Evaluation of Knowledge and Awareness on Hepatitis C Infection among Pharmacy and Nursing Students of Chitradurga- A Descriptive Cross Sectional Study

Hepatitis C is an infection caused by virus that attacks liver and leads to inflammation. It is a blood borne infection i.e. the virus is spread by contact with contaminated blood. Most people are asymptomatic. Around 170 million people are chronically infected and 3-4 million are newly affected every year. The objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge, awareness and practices among the students for the prevention of Hepatitis C Infection and to compare the knowledge on the same among pharmacy and nursing students. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among the pharmacy and nursing students of Chitradurga, carried out for a period of six months. Statistical Analysis was done using descriptive methods to obtain the frequency and percentage, paired T-test (2 tailed) & Pearson correlation was applied to determine any significant difference between quantitative variables. A total of 200 participants were enrolled in the study among which 100 were pharmacy students and 100 were nursing students. The analysed results of knowledge assessment depicted that, the mean score of Pharmacy students were higher than Nursing students. Practice assessment disclosed that higher mean scores were present in pharmacy students compared to nursing students. The study revealed that Pharmacy students had better level of knowledge and practices compared to nursing students. But knowledge and awareness needs to be improved as these professions play a very important role in health service. Awareness and education about Hepatitis C should be conducted to enhance the knowledge of students.