The Change Of Knowledge And Related Attitude Of College Students In Changsha City Toward Chronic Carriers Of HBV

Objective:To explore the implementation of the national hepatitis B related stigma elimination policy in campus and investigate related knowledge and attitude of Changsha college students. To compare the students’attitude toward chronic carriers of HBV between2006and2011, and discover the change and influencing factors. So as to provide a scientific basis for the formulation of a comprehensive strategies and measures on the prevention, control and health education of hepatitis B, and for the improvement of the policy of eliminating hepatitis B related stigma.Method:College students of5universities were randomly selected, using the multi-stage random cluster sampling method both in2006and2011. Three or four classes were randomly sampled in each college. All students in selected classes were investigated voluntarily. The survey questionnaire consisted of three parts:the social demographic information, the knowledge about hepatitis B, and chronic carriers of HBV-related stigma scale in college students. The questionnaire and envelope were released in classroom. The questionnaires were required to be filled in quietly and alone, and handed in the envelope to assure the anonymity. Data was entered into Epidata3.1and we performed all statistical analyses using SPSS version18.0and MLwin verision2.10. The statistical methods used analyzing the data were t-test, analysis of variance, chi-square test, nonparametric test, profile analysis, multilevel models.Results:The average awareness rate on hepatitis B transmission and prevention knowledge was70.20%(95%CI:69.44%,70.95%), infection route and prevention knowledge were66.72%(95%CI:65.76%,67.67%) and75.66%(95%CI:74.41%,76.87%) separately. An average awareness rate was69.12%(95%CI:67.98%,70.24%)in2006and71.13%(95%CI:70.38%,72.14%) in2011. From the839investigated college students in2011,57.57%college students received hepatitis B blood test when they took the entrance physical examination,3.93%of the test results was made public, The number of students received hepatitis B blood tests increased with grade.From the839investigated college students in2011,5.96%college students had read "the notice about further standardizing entrance and employment physical examination project to protect rights of chronic carriers of HBV.9.65%college students had known that majors like preschool education and food cooking profession could enroll chronic carriers of HBV,24.08%college students had known that government regulation policy had cancelled hepatitis B blood test in entrance examination and employment physical examination.33.85%college students supported the rules to cancel hepatitis B blood test in entrance and employment.35.16%college students would be significantly changed their attitudes toward chronic carriers of HBV because of stigma eliminating policy issued by government.Profile analysis indicated that four domains of chronic carriers of HBV-related stigma scale in college students in2011were less than in2006, the score of discrimination domain declines most pronouncedly.It was found that the stigma attitude of college students was clustered in each college(σn02(level2)=98.71, P<0.05). Two-level multilevel model showed that the influencing factors of students’ attitudes toward chronic carriers of HBV were year, gender, coming from rural or urban areas, whether they lived on campus or not, latest test result of HBsAg, any family member or friend were chronic carriers of HBV, received HBV vaccination or not, and the knowledge of HBV transmission and prevention.Conclusion:College students in Changsha city had sort of related knowledge about hepatitis B, but there is still a misunderstanding of HBV transmission routes.Compared to2006, the college students’attitude toward chronic carriers of HBV changed in2011. they tended to treat chronic carries of HBV with less stigma attitude.The results indicated that the important educational objects of related stigma was that coming from urban area, living off campus, the latest test result of HBsAg was negative or unknown, no family member or friend were chronic carriers of HBV or unknown, no hepatitis B vaccine, having poor knowledge of hepatitis B transmission and prevention and female.