Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem worldwide affecting healthcare providers, students in institutions of learning and communities at large. HBV infection is seen to be highly prevalent in countries of sub-Saharan Africa such as Uganda. In many parts of Uganda like Northern Uganda, there is little known about the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards prevention of HBV infection in institutions of learning. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards prevention of HBV infection among students of Gulu University,Uganda.
Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards Hepatitis B infection among students of Gulu University, Uganda.
Methods: An institution-based descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from 20th January 2022 to 3rd February, 2022. A total of 300 students from six faculties were chosen for the study through the technique of systematic random sampling. Data was collected using self-administered structured questionnaires and analyzed by using SPSS version 25.
Results: Majority of the students had good knowledge on the different modes of transmission of HBV infection with over 90% having heard about HBV infection. The students also had positive attitudes with 87% agreeing that everyone should be tested before treatment and 73.9% believed in the HBV vaccine. More than half (62.3%) had vaccinated but only 23.9% had received all the three doses and over 70% had ever been exposed blood and body fluids from other people either accidentally through sharp instruments or through some form of body to body contact.
Conclusions: This study therefore revealed that students in institutions of learning are at very high risk of contracting HBV infection due to the knowledge gap that exists from one faculty to another on the modes of transmission and the low vaccination uptake among students in the different faculties. Therefore there is need to bridge the knowledge gap through health education as this may affect students’ ability to seek better HBV prevention practices.
