Hemophilia Patients' Level of Knowledge of About Viral Hepatitis

Introduction: Hemophilia is a genetic disease presenting predominantly with joint hemorrhages in clinical course. Thus, its treatment requires transfusion of numerous blood and blood products. As a consequence, hemophilia patients are under high risk of many transfusion-borne infections, especially viral hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus infection. Measures should be taken to prevent the transmission of blood-borne diseases in these patients. Vaccination against hepatitis A and B and patient education are especially crucial for prevention. The aim of this study was to evaluate hemophilia patients' knowledge on viral hepatitis and to test whether their knowledge could be improved by a two-hour training program. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on June 6, 2015 during a full-day educational program on different topics for hemophilia patients being followed by the Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Division at Ege University Faculty of Medicine. Twenty-four participating patients filled up pre-test questionnaires, followed by a training given by an expert. The same questionnaire was distributed as a post-test after the training session. There were 18 questions in the questionnaire, comprising six questions on socio-demographic characteristics, eight true/false questions on knowledge about hepatitis and four questions on their vaccination status. Pre-and post-tests were compared with the McNemar test. Results: The mean age of the participating 24 patients was 37.0 +/- 13.0 (20-67) years. The mean duration since the diagnosis of hemophilia was 32.7 +/- 12.8 (6-60) years. Among the participants, one had chronic hepatitis B, two had chronic hepatitis C and the rest were unaware of their viral hepatitis status. Before the training, 19 patients had heard of hepatitis B, 17 had heard of hepatitis A and C, four had heard of hepatitis D and two had heard of hepatitis E. Only two patients knew the routes of transmission of hepatitis A correctly. The patients had misconceptions on the transmission routes of hepatitis B and C. After the training, their information on the fact that hepatitis A is spread primarily through contaminated food or water, hepatitis C can be transmitted via sexual intercourse, there are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and a vaccine against hepatitis C is not available yet, improved significantly. Conclusion: Patient education programs targeting special high-risk groups such as haemophilia patients could both increase their knowledge and render prevention of viral hepatitis possible.