A survey on the knowledge, Attitude and Practice of the Students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Regarding Hepatitis B and C in 2012

The viruses of hepatitis B and C are two of the most common blood-borne pathogenic microorganisms that are known as an occupational risk factor for health care workers. The aim of this study was to study the knowledge, attitude and practice of the students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences regarding hepatitis B and C in the year 2012.
Material and In this cross-sectional study, 445 among 775 clinical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences were selected. Data was collected by a questionnaire which included two sections; the first section was the demographic data of the participants and the second one included 17 questions of Knowledge, 11 questions of attitude and 10 questions of practice. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed by experienced specialists and calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=0.8). Data was analyzed using descriptive analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA, by SPSS software version 17. P≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant difference.
The results showed that, from the aspect of knowledge, both male and female groups were the same. The knowledge of medical and dental students was in a higher rate compared to the paramedical students. The male group had better practice in comparison with females. The dental students had better practice and attitude compared to the other students. The results also revealed that the rate of knowledge and practice increases by an increase in the levels of education.
According to the results of the current study, we can conclude that the knowledge, practice and attitude of the students toward hepatitis B and C are average, therefore adequate policies to improve education in this case could be recommended.