Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Nursing and Medical Students about HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis

Abstract

Background: Control and prevention of AIDS and hepatitis are one of the priorities of health care systems. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of nursing and medical students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences about AIDS and hepatitis. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 203 medical and nursing students were selected through random sampling in 2018. The data were analyzed using chi-square, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. The significance level in all tests was 0.05. Results: The mean score of students' knowledge was 11.19 ± 3.39, of attitude was 74.38 ±7.09 and of practice was 19.81±3.42. Only 12.3% of the participating students had good knowledge and 34% had good and proper practice in controlling and preventing AIDS and hepatitis. There was a significant relationship between knowledge with the field of study, age and educational level (P≤0.05). However, no significant relationship was observed between practice and attitude with the field of study, age, and level of education (P≥0.05). Conclusion: Based on the average awareness and performance of students in the field of AIDS and hepatitis and the role of these factors in disease prevention and care improvement, more attention of faculties and educational hospitals of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences students' internship and internship is diverted to this issue and performing necessary educational interventions, such as holding workshops and educational conferences on these diseases before students start clinical work and repeat it in time of their presence in hospital settings, seems essential.