Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice towards hepatitis among patients visiting the hepatitis clinic in tertiary care hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of hepatitis B and C patients towards the disease. Methods: The cross-sectional, descriptive, questionnaire-based study was conducted at the Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) and its allied hospitals, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from October to December 2017, and comprised hepatitis B and C patients aged >= 18 years who were visiting the outpatient department. A structured, close-ended, 30-item questionnaire was used to collect data which was then analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 399 patients, 230(57.6%) were women, 103(26%) did not have any formal education, and TV, radio and the internet was the main source of information regarding hepatitis for 138(34.6%) patients. The overall mean age was 42.82 +/- 11.78 years. The sample showed poor knowledge with a mean score of 7.33 +/- 2.03, adequate attitude with a mean of 4.33 +/- 1.19, and poor practice with a mean of 2.97 +/- 1.05. Correlation was statistically significant between knowledge and practice (p<0.01). Conclusion: Lack of imperative knowledge of hepatitis in patients was the main reason for negative attitude and poor practices.