Public awareness and influencing factors regarding hepatitis B and hepatitis C in Chongqing municipality and Chengdu City, China: a cross-sectional study with community residents

OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis B and hepatitis C cause a heavy disease burden in China. This paper aims to investigate the public’s knowledge on hepatitis B and hepatitis C in Chongqing municipality and Chengdu City, China. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to April 2017. SETTING: Two communities from Chongqing and Chengdu were involved in this study. PARTICIPANTS: Data from 928 community residents were analysed. OUTCOME: Demographic characteristics, knowledge on hepatitis B and hepatitis C and sources of hepatitis knowledge were obtained from questionnaires. The participants’ scores ranged from 0 to 24, and a test score about more than 14.4 (60% of the total score) was defined as sufficient knowledge. RESULTS: Among the participants, only 36.10% presented sufficient knowledge on hepatitis B and hepatitis C, and about 40% were unaware of the two antidiscrimination policies in China. The sources of information about hepatitis were mainly from doctors and the internet. Unmarried individuals, people with secondary education and above and those with an annual income above US$2108 tended to exhibit a higher level of knowledge on hepatitis B and hepatitis C. CONCLUSIONS: The community members demonstrated limited awareness and level of knowledge on hepatitis B and hepatitis C, particularly in relation to the antidiscrimination policies. Extensive health education should be provided to the public, particularly to those with low educational status and income.