Hepatitis B Awareness among Medical Students and Their Vaccination Status at Syrian Private University

Abstract

Background. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a potentially life-threating infection and a well-recognized occupational hazard for health-care workers including medical students. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Syrian Private University (SPU), Faculty of Medicine, to assess the knowledge and awareness about hepatitis B, the status of hepatitis B vaccination, and the reasons for not getting vaccinated among the first- and the fifth-year medical students. Results. The present study demonstrates surprising results and raises issues about the high number of medical students that are not vaccinated or not sure about their vaccination status, which puts them at a higher risk of being infected in the future. Another important issue is the medical students’ overall knowledge about this life-threating infection. The students have not been totally educated about the gravity of the situation which requires the need of further HBV education. It is highly recommended that SPU provides the HBV vaccine to all nonvaccinated students attending the faculty of medicine at no cost to encourage them to take the HBV vaccine and to reform some of its educational curriculum to effectively limit the hazardous effects of this disease and elaborate on the serious health consequences of HBV.