Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices toward prevention of hepatitis B infection among medical students in a high-risk setting of a newly established medical institution

BACKGROUND: India is in the intermediate hepatitis B virus endemicity zone with hepatitis B surface antigen prevalence among the general population ranges from 2% to 8%. Among health-care workers, seroprevalence is two to four times higher than that of the general population. AIM: The aim of the study was done to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAPs) of medical students regarding hepatitis B. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted from March to April 2018. Students were invited to the department on specified dates for awareness and immunization against hepatitis B. Their KAP was assessed with the help of a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: With a response rate of 81.3%, a total of 161 students participated in the study out of 198. Out of the 161 study participants, only 13 (8%) students had received a completed course of hepatitis B vaccination in the past, 30 (18.7%) students had a history of inability to complete the three doses of hepatitis B vaccination, and the rest 118 (73.3%) students were never immunized against hepatitis B. The knowledge about the risk of acquiring the disease at the hospital or high-risk setting was present in less than half of the students. The average knowledge score was 10.63 out of 16 and average healthy practice score was 2.94 out of 4. On applying Pearson correlation test, it was found that there was a positive correlation of knowledge and practices of the students (P = 0.012), implying that better knowledge of the disease has a positive effect on the practices exercised by an individual. CONCLUSION: Newly enrolled students and other individuals attached to a high-risk setting such as a medical institution should be screened for immunization status during initial medical examination as the number of unimmunized persons, especially against hepatitis B is high.