Assessment of hepatitis knowledge and attitudes among Fayoum University students: a cross-sectional study, Fayoum, Egypt

Background: Hepatitis is a serious infectious disease of the liver. HBV in Egypt was considered as an endemic disease and HCV is a public health challenge with the highest prevalence in the world. Implementing a health education prevention program will save more money than that spent on treatment. Objectives: To measure knowledge, and health-seeking attitudes concerning viral hepatitis among Fayoum University students. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 2,048 Fayoum University students. The sample was a cluster random sample. A Self-administrated questionnaire was used to assess knowledge and attitude towards viral hepatitis diseases. Results: Three quarters of the students had a satisfactory level of knowledge and more than half had a good attitude. Poor knowledge and attitude were associated with being male, rural residence and no experience with the disease via relative. Recommendations: The study recommended the deep need to conduct health education campaigns to raise awareness of the university students about viral hepatitis as each of the students will act as an instructor for their family and community for preventing disease. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.