Chronic hepatitis B and C as stigma: Is the problem relevant for Russian society?

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B and C (CHB and CHC) are a serious medical and social problem of the world community. Aim: to study the problem of stigmatization and attitudes to patients with CHB and CHC among adolescents and adults. Materials and methods. An anonymous survey was conducted in 120 residents of the Kirov region. Of these, 94 adults (aged 18 to 76 years; average age 39.3±11.5 years) of different specialties except medical (group 1) and 26 adolescents aged 16-17 years (average age 16.5±0.5 years), high school students (group 2). The original questionnaire included 16 questions divided into 3 blocks. Block 1 contained questions about the socio - demographic status of the Respondent, block 2 and block 3 included questions on the epidemiology of HCV and HBV infection and on the treatment of patients with CHC and CHB respectively. Results. In the course of work the majority of respondents (50-65.4%) from both groups revealed a negative attitude towards patients with CHB and CHC (to a lesser extent pronounced against close relatives and friends of CHC patients), manifested by a desire to exclude casual contact and refusal to live in the same room with the patient CHB/CHC, no desire of sharing your child/brother in the same kindergarten group patients with CHB/CHC child. Fear of Contracting HBV/HCV infection has been linked to poor knowledge of the factors and pathways of transmission of these diseases. In a few cases, adolescents and adults showed an extreme degree of destructive attitude, which was expressed in the adoption of discriminatory measures against this category of patients - dismissal from work and expulsion from school/University. Conclusion. The results indicate that there is a problem of stigmatization of patients with CHB and CHC in society, both in children and adults, which requires systematic work on health education.