Assessment of Knowledge Regarding Hepatitis C Transmission, Treatment, and Vaccination among Health Care Providers

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a disease transmitted through contaminated blood and can also be transferred from mother to child during delivery. This inflammatory disease causes everlasting damage to the liver leading to death. Objective: To assess the knowledge regarding Hepatitis C transmission, treatment, and vaccination among health care providers. Methods: It is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in tehsil Wazirabad, district Gujranwala. The study included medical and paramedical staff of 2 health care setups: Iqra Medical Complex and Butt Eye Hospital. The 260 participants were included as per convenience after informed consent. Data were collected from January 2021 to August 2021 using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Data was entered and analyzed on SPSS version 21. The responses of the participants were recorded on 5 points Likert scale and frequencies and percentages were mentioned as a response. Results: The mean age of respondents was 28.3 ± 5.6 years with minimum and maximum ages as 20 and 45years.  The participants included males 176 (67.7%) and females 84 (32.3%). The participants had sufficient knowledge about Hepatitis C transmission, symptoms, and effects on the liver. But respondents 30 (11.5%) strongly disagreed and 60 (23%) disagreed that Hepatitis C can be transferred from mother to child. The majority of the respondents 138 (53.1%) strongly disagreed with 50 (19.2%) that hepatitis can survive at room temperature. Moreover, the maximum number of respondents such as 160 (61.5%) strongly disagreed about proper updated knowledge of the treatment. Conclusions: In conclusion, the respondents have sufficient knowledge about Hepatitis C symptoms, transmission, and its long-term effects on the liver. They were unaware of HCV survival at room temperature and its transmission from mother to child at the time of birth. Moreover, the staff members also lack the knowledge of updated treatment plans.