Knowledge Regarding Hepatitis B Virus Infection and its Prevention among Nursing Students in Karachi

Abstract

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is a significant global health concern. All healthcare professionals especially nurses are always at a greater risk of getting the HBV. Objective: To assess knowledge regarding Hepatitis B Virus infection and its prevention among nursing students in Karachi. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to assess the knowledge of student nurses regarding Hepatitis B infection at ten nursing institutes in Karachi for six months; the calculated sample size was 529 by Open Epi version 3.0 by using convenient sampling technique. The data were collected by well-structured questionnaire and involved the questions about knowledge of Hepatitis B Virus infection and its prevention. All the students of Diploma in Nursing above the age 16 years were included while all the students of other nursing discipline were excluded. Results: The overall level of knowledge of the respondents on HBV infection was very good in this study, 93.2%, in response to the question concerning about the causes of Hepatitis B Virus infection (76.7%) responded positive. Knowledge regarding the incubation period of Hepatitis-B was very less (31.4%). 59.0 % consider that they are at risk to get Hepatitis B at their job, while 96.7% knew that it can be transmitted by unsterilized syringes, needles and surgical instruments which is similar to our study. Conclusions: All healthcare professionals especially student nurses are always at a greater risk of getting the HBV. Therefore, comparable research with a larger population and sample size has to be carried out.