Ali Asad, Khan Sara, Malik Saad M, Haris Iqbal Muhammad, Aadil Muhammad
Medicine, CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry.
Dentistry, CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry.
Cureus. 2017 Feb 23;9(2):e1049. doi: 10.7759/cureus.1049.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a blood-borne infectious disease. It is one of the most common causes of end-stage liver disease, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Healthcare professionals, including medical and dental students, are at a high risk of acquiring this infection. The aim of this study was to compare and contrast the knowledge and attitudes toward HBV infection amongst doctors, dentists, nurses, and undergraduate final year medical and dental students.
A cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample size of 381 medical professionals, which included doctors (59), dentists (77), nurses (71), final year medical students (126), and final year dental students (48) at Combined Military Hospital Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry (CMH LMC). A questionnaire comprising 27 multiple choice questions was distributed amongst the groups mentioned above. The questionnaire aimed to assess basic knowledge, attitudes towards those infected, and knowledge about vaccination against HBV.
The total response rate was 88.8% (382/430 respondents returned the questionnaire). The mean ± standard deviation (SD) score for all healthcare professionals in knowledge was 15.54 ± 3.69 and attitude were 4.67 ± 1.37, which indicated that majority of the healthcare professionals were well informed about hepatitis B and generally exhibited positive attitudes. However, results revealed that medical students lacked adequate knowledge about various aspects of HBV infection, including modes of transmission and prevention methods against the disease. On the other hand, dental students were better informed and exhibited a more positive attitude towards the disease.
According to the results of our study, medical students showed poor knowledge about hepatitis B disease, including its modes of transmission and the option of vaccination. Lack of knowledge contributed significantly to their negative attitudes towards those suffering from the disease, which has the potential to considerably affect the quality of patient care and the doctor-patient relationship. Major steps should be taken towards improving the curriculum followed at medical colleges in Pakistan. More emphasis should be laid on providing knowledge during early academic years and increasing the amount of clinical exposure. Frequent workshops and seminars should be organized in order to provide up-to-date knowledge about HBV infection and means of prevention to both healthcare professionals and students.
乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）是一种血源性传染病。它是终末期肝病（包括肝硬化和肝细胞癌）最常见的病因之一。包括医学生和牙科学生在内的医护人员感染这种疾病的风险很高。本研究的目的是比较和对比医生、牙医、护士以及本科最后一年的医学生和牙科学生对HBV感染的知识和态度。
对381名医学专业人员进行了一项横断面研究，这些人员包括拉合尔医学院和牙科学院联合军事医院（CMH LMC）的医生（59名）、牙医（77名）、护士（71名）、最后一年的医学生（126名）和最后一年的牙科学生（48名）。向上述群体发放了一份包含27个多项选择题的问卷。该问卷旨在评估基本知识、对感染者的态度以及关于HBV疫苗接种的知识。
总回复率为88.8%（430名受访者中有382人返回了问卷）。所有医护人员在知识方面的平均±标准差（SD）得分为15.54 ± 3.69，态度方面为4.67 ± 1.37，这表明大多数医护人员对乙型肝炎有充分了解，并且总体上表现出积极的态度。然而，结果显示医学生对HBV感染的各个方面缺乏足够的知识，包括传播方式和疾病预防方法。另一方面，牙科学生了解得更多，并且对该疾病表现出更积极的态度。
根据我们的研究结果，医学生对乙型肝炎疾病的了解较差，包括其传播方式和疫苗接种选择。知识的缺乏极大地导致了他们对患病者的消极态度，这有可能严重影响患者护理质量和医患关系。应该采取重大措施来改进巴基斯坦医学院所遵循的课程。应更加重视在早期学年提供知识，并增加临床接触量。应经常组织研讨会，以便向医护人员和学生提供关于HBV感染和预防方法的最新知识。
