Improving Knowledge and Practices of Primary Health Care Personnel Concerning Hepatitis C through an Intervention Health Education Program: Part II | ||||
| Journal of High Institute of Public Health | ||||
| Article 7, Volume 32, Issue 3, July 2002, Page 503-520 | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jhiph.2002.208958 | ||||
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| Author | ||||
| Bothaina M.S. Deghedi* | ||||
| Assistant Professor of Primary Health Care, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV] is a major health problem worldwide. Health care personnel are at risk of contracting HCV infection more than the general population. Thus, the aim of present study was to improve the knowledge and practices concerning hepatitis Č among nurses and laboratory technicians working in primary health care centers and units in Alexandria through an intervention health education program and to assess the impact of the health education program on their knowledge and practices regarding hepatitis C. The educational contents were prepared according to WHO 2000 and control of communicable diseases manual 2000. Questionnaires [post-tests] were administered after the health education program to assess the knowledge and practices of nurses and laboratory technicians. A scoring system was developed and the total knowledge and practices scores of all post-tests were calculated. The results revealed that, the great majority of nurses [98.0%] scored good knowledge, while only 2.0% of them scored fair knowledge in the post-test after the program. Moreover, a significant improvement in their knowledge occurred, as their mean total knowledge score in the pre-test [before the program] was 6.53 ± 1.08 compared to 13.89 ± 1.25 in the post -test [paired - t = 60.541; P < 0.001]. Also, a significant increase in the mean knowledge scores of all knowledge items of the post-test was found. Moreover, 44.9% of nurses scored good practice and 55.1% scored partial practice in the post-test. Also, a significant increase in the total mean practices score was observed from the pre-test to the post-test [5.93 ± 1.82 and 10.97 ± 1.13 respectively] [paired - t = 31.604; P < 0.001] with a significant improvement in the mean practices scores of all practices items in the post-test regarding prevention of hepatitis C. As regards laboratory technicians, the results revealed that the majority of them [86.7%] scored good knowledge and 13.3% scored fair knowledge in the post -test. Moreover, a significant increase in their knowledge occurred where the total mean knowledge score of the pre-test was 4.73 ± 2.79 while that of the post-test was 13.13 ± 1.38. Also, a significant improvement in the mean knowledge scores of all knowledge items of the post-test was observed. Moreover, 90.0% of laboratory technicians scored good practice, only 10.0% scored partial practice in the post test. Also, a significant improvement in their practices occurred, as their mean total practices score in the pre-test was 3.72 ± 0.76 compared to 8.73 ± 0.92 in the post-test with significant improvement in the mean practices scores of all practice items of the post-test concerning prevention of hepatitis C. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Improving Knowledge; Practices; Primary Health Care; Personnel Concerning; Hepatitis C; Intervention Health Education Program | ||||
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