A Survey of Knowledge, Individual Perceived Risk, General Perceived Risk, and Behavioral Intentions Regarding Hepatitis B among Students in the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Shahrekord Islamic Azad University in 2014

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B is the most common cause of liver disease, and medical students are a risk group for the disease given their future occupations. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess of predictors of hepatitis B in the Faculty of nursing, midwifery and health at Shahrekord Islamic Azad University in 2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 300 students from the Faculty of nursing, midwifery and health at Shahrekord Islamic Azad University. The students answered questionnaires with items covering demographic characteristics, individual knowledge, public risk perception, perceived personal risk, and behavioral intentions regarding hepatitis B. The data were analyzed with SPSS version 18 software. RESULTS: The mean knowledge score of the students was 4.77 ± 1.71, the mean public risk perception score was 24.22 ± 3.44, the mean perceived personal risk score was 6.51 ± 1.97, and the mean behavioral intention score was 12.06 ± 2.97. There were significant differences in the mean knowledge scores in terms of gender, level of awareness, and level of education. There were also differences in the mean behavioral intention scores in terms of gender and field of study, the mean perceived personal risk scores in terms of level of education and field of study, and the mean public risk perception scores in terms of field of study. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, it is necessary to implement educational intervention in order to allow students to identify risk factors and overcome barriers to understanding the implications of the disease in this context.