Richmond J A, Dunning T L, Desmond P V
Gastroenterology Department, St Vincent's Health, Melbourne, Australia.
J Viral Hepat. 2007 Sep;14(9):624-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2007.00849.x.
An estimated 170 million people worldwide have hepatitis C, which is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, health professionals (HPs) are likely to care for people with hepatitis C at some stage in their careers. However, little is known about HPs' attitudes towards treating people with hepatitis C. An analytical, cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore the inter-relationship among HPs' hepatitis C knowledge and attitudes towards treating people with hepatitis C and their self-reported clinical behaviour: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 3675 complementary therapists, dentists, medical practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, undergraduate medical and nursing students and people with hepatitis C in Victoria, Australia. Forty-six per cent responded (n = 1510). Only HP (complementary therapists, dentists, medical practitioners, nurses and pharmacists) data is presented (n = 1347). Most HPs demonstrated adequate hepatitis C knowledge, but some displayed intolerant attitudes toward people with hepatitis C. Their self-reported compliance with infection control practices indicated that they frequently treated people with hepatitis C differently from other patients by using additional infection control precautions while treating patients with hepatitis C. In addition, fear of contagion and disapproval of injecting drug use emerged as barriers to their willingness to treat people with hepatitis C. The results suggest that focusing education strategies on changing HPs' attitudes toward people with hepatitis C, injecting drug users, and infection control guidelines rather than concentrating solely on medical information might ultimately improve patient care.
据估计，全球有1.7亿人感染丙型肝炎，这是发病和死亡的一个重要原因。因此，卫生专业人员（HPs）在其职业生涯的某个阶段很可能会照顾丙型肝炎患者。然而，对于卫生专业人员对待丙型肝炎患者的态度却知之甚少。我们开展了一项分析性横断面调查，以探究卫生专业人员的丙型肝炎知识、对待丙型肝炎患者的态度以及他们自我报告的临床行为之间的相互关系：我们向澳大利亚维多利亚州的3675名辅助治疗师、牙医、医生、护士、药剂师、医学和护理专业本科生以及丙型肝炎患者发放了自填式问卷。46%的人做出了回应（n = 1510）。本文仅呈现卫生专业人员（辅助治疗师、牙医、医生、护士和药剂师）的数据（n = 1347）。大多数卫生专业人员表现出了足够的丙型肝炎知识，但有些人对丙型肝炎患者表现出了不宽容的态度。他们自我报告的感染控制措施依从性表明，在治疗丙型肝炎患者时，他们经常通过采取额外的感染控制预防措施，以不同于其他患者的方式来治疗丙型肝炎患者。此外，对传染的恐惧和对注射吸毒的不认可成为了他们愿意治疗丙型肝炎患者的障碍。结果表明，将教育策略的重点放在改变卫生专业人员对丙型肝炎患者、注射吸毒者的态度以及感染控制指南上，而不是仅仅专注于医学信息，最终可能会改善患者护理。
