CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY OF VIRAL HEPATITIS AWARENESS AMONG PATIENTS FROM PUBLIC SECTOR HOSPITALS OF LAHORE CITY OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Viral Hepatitis is the eighth most leading reason of fatalities all over the world which caused 1.44 million deaths in 2010. HBV and HCV are the principal causes of Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). For conducting a cross-sectional study, 407 patients were enrolled using Non-probability Purposive Sampling Technique. All the demographic variables were significantly different among the three hospitals selected for the study (except marital status). The average knowledge score was calculated to be 19.4+9.9. Males were observed to have had a higher mean score in comparison to females; 24.87+9.43 vs. 15.82+8.61. A noteworthy difference was observed in all the analyzed demographic variables and knowledge scores (p-value<0.05). Multinomial regression analysis was applied, with perception and awareness of hepatitis and the demographics. All explanatory variables were statistically significant, with considerably small standard errors, which show their consistency (p-value < 0.05). This study revealed that patients already diagnosed with any type of hepatitis generally lacked understanding and knowledge about their condition. Patients from Services Hospital were discovered to have the maximum score among all, which might be due to the guidance and awareness program arranged by their paramedical staff