Knowledge, Attitude, and Prevention Practices towards Hepatitis B among Grade 9 Students

Abstract

Hepatitis-B is a life threatening infection affecting 0.6 million deaths annually. The prevalence of Hepatitis-B still exists in the Philippines despite of the availability of prophylaxis vaccine; there is still insufficiency of information about Hepatitis B. The study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes and prevention practices about Hepatitis B among Grade-9 student. A mixed method was used in collecting and analyzing data of 100 Grade 9 students. Data were gathered by means of survey questionnaire and group interview. The validated questionnaire contains 32 for the knowledge, attitude and prevention practices. Descriptive statistics were used for determining patients’ demographic profile and mean scores for knowledge, attitude and practices of students toward hepatitis B. Data revealed that overall of the respondents have moderately knowledgeable, moderately prevention practices and moderate attitudes towards hepatitis B and also revealed that there’s no significant difference in attitude and practices between male and female and there is significant difference in knowledge between male and female.  The findings of this study indicate that Grade 9 students lack a basic understanding of Hepatitis B. This can result in the further spread of Hepatitis-B infection. Intensive health education should be provided in school and communities. Keywords : Hepatitis B, knowledge, attitude, practices and health education.