Evaluation of the knowledge of adolescents on transmission and prevention of hepatitis B and C

Authors

  • Andréa do Livramento
  • Caio Mauricio Mendes de Cordova
  • Celso Spada
  • Aricio Treitinger

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/rpt.v38i3.8122

Keywords:

Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Adolescents, Education.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of adolescents of Blumenau
city, Santa Catarina state, in Brazil, on the routes of transmission and prevention
of hepatitis B and C. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 393 adolescents
between 10 and 15 years old, who were attended in public health institutions
of the city, and answered a questionnaire about hepatitis B and C. 210 out of
393 participants (53.4%) were female. Most adolescents (83.2%) demonstrated
knowledge of the preventive vaccine against hepatitis B. More than half of the
participants (55.5%) believe that the contamination for HBV and HCV occurs by
the contact with blood or secretions from an infected person, and 23.5% are unaware
of the transmission routes. Among the participants, 29.0% reported knowledge of
one or more cases of hepatitis in the family. Almost 40% of the adolescents informed
an antecedent of hospital admission, five (1.3% of the total of participants) received
blood transfusion and 13 (3.3% of the total) had body piercing and/or tattooing.
The level of knowledge in the studied population indicates the need for increase of
educational activities and the importance of health education for adolescents.

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Published

2009-11-12

How to Cite

LIVRAMENTO, A. do; CORDOVA, C. M. M. de; SPADA, C.; TREITINGER, A. Evaluation of the knowledge of adolescents on transmission and prevention of hepatitis B and C. Revista de Patologia Tropical / Journal of Tropical Pathology, Goiânia, v. 38, n. 3, p. 155–164, 2009. DOI: 10.5216/rpt.v38i3.8122. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufg.br/iptsp/article/view/8122. Acesso em: 22 nov. 2024.

Issue

Section

ORIGINAL ARTICLES