Effect of gender and age on the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding Hepatitis B and C and vaccination status of Hepatitis B among medical students of Karachi, Pakistan

Objectives: to determine the vaccination status for hepatitis b and knowledge, attitude and practice (kap) regarding hepatitis b and c among medical students of karachi and to evaluate the effects of gender and age on the responses, regarding vaccination and kap for hepatitis b and c. methods: this cross sectional study was conducted in 7 medical colleges/ universities of karachi. convenient sampling was used to collect the information. questionnaire regarding awareness about prevention, transmission, diagnosis, treatment and vaccination availability for hepatitis b and c was completed from each individual. in addition, vaccination status of hepatitis b and the awareness of students regarding post exposure prophylaxis was also documented. one thousand five hundred and nine students participated in this study. results: the mean age of medical students (1509) was 20.35 ± 1.72 years. female participants were 1075 (71.2%) and 937 (62.1%) of the respondents were studying in public institutions. eighty five percent of the respondents indicated that they were aware of availability of a vaccine for hepatitis b. only 57.1% medical students showed excellent knowledge regarding the route of spread of hepatitis b and c. students showing good knowledge of treatment procedures for hepatitis b and c were 48.2%. half of the respondents (49.8%) showed good knowledge regarding spread of hepatitis by dental procedures. seventy six percent of participating medical students did not have any knowledge about the post exposure prophylaxis for hepatitis b and c. seventy four percent indicated that the hepatitis patients should not be isolated. seventy nine percent of the students reported that they were vaccinated for hepatitis b and 70.6% of them were completely vaccinated (3 doses). about half of the respondents (49.4%) indicated that they were screened for hepatitis b and only 27.1% were screened for hepatitis c. half of the students reported that they have had needle pricks in their students career. conclusion: the overall kap of studied group showed satisfactory outcomes. however, some areas of knowledge and attitude need to be modified or changed altogether.