Association of Hepatitis B Knowledge and Awareness among Community Dwelling Healthy Adult Populations of Tamil Nadu, India: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B Viral (HBV) infection is a major public health concern in India. However, people have limited knowledge and awareness regarding the hepatitis B viral infection. Knowledge and awareness related information are an essential component for designing effective interventions and strategies for disease prevention and control. This study aims to assess the knowledge and awareness regarding Hepatitis B Viral (HBV) infection among community-dwelling healthy adults of Tamil Nadu, India. Materials and Methods: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2019 and February 2020 in the Tamil Nadu state of India. A simple random sampling strategy was used to attain the samples from each household, one adult has been selected based on the inclusion criteria, and face to face interview was conducted by using a semi-structured, pretested tool. Result: A total of 426 households were contacted to attain the ideal samples. At last 320 samples were included for the final analysis. About 63 percent of the study subjects were male and 37 percent of them were female. Almost 82 percent of them were obtained a degree (41 percent of them were undergraduate and 41 percent of them belonged to postgraduate). About 71 of them were stated that HBV caused by a virus. Good knowledge of HBV was associated with good awareness. In the chi-square analysis, the study found a significant association between adult age group, being a family man/women (married), and high family income was associated with good knowledge. Conclusion: Current study reveals a level of knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B viral infection (HBV) among adults in Tamil Nadu, India. Study finding reveals that there is a need to improve public disease-specific knowledge and awareness for the prevention of hepatitis B viral infection. Well-designed community programs and health education mainly focusing on the vulnerable groups will help it improve the knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B viral infection.