Risk behaviors of hepatitis "C" viral infection among secondary school students, Cairo governorate / Sayeda Mohamed Ahmed Ahmed ; Supervised Nagat S. Habib , Gehan Mostafa Ismail

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Nursing - Department of Community Health Nursing

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an emerging global epidemic disease. Egypt reports the highest incidence in the world. Adolescents are thought to be at risk because of their high-risk behaviors. The study aimed at assessing the risk behaviors of hepatitis "C" viral infection among secondary school students, Cairo governorate. A descriptive cross sectional research design was utilized in this study. Setting; the study was conducted at three governmental secondary schools at Cairo governorate. A stratified random sample of 300 secondary school students, three classes represented 1st, 2nd, 3rd year grad were included in the study. Two tools were utilized in this study. 1- Structure interviewing Questionnaire which includes two parts a- Demographic characteristic of the students. b- Student's knowledge questionnaire; consisted of 41 questions related to the students' knowledge about hepatitis C virus as the nature, mode of transmission, preventive measures and complication. 2- Risk behaviors assessment tool; consisted of 19 questions related to the students{u2019} behaviors for preventing hepatitis c virus as shared equipment, using new blades for shaving. Results indicated that, the mean age of the students was 16.77 ± 0.998 years, 63% were female. More than two fifths of the students had average knowledge, while two fifths of them had good knowledge about hepatitis C virus; The Majority (90.7%) of them had higher level of risk behaviors. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the student's total risk behavior scores and their age and sex, while a statistically significant negative correlation was found between the student's total risk behaviors scores and their parent's education. The study concluded that, the common risk behaviors reported by the students were; tattooing; piercing ear with unsterile instrument and sharing tools and not vaccinated against hepatitis B virus. The study recommended implementation of health education program for secondary school students to raise their awareness about hepatitis C virus, and to reduce their risk behaviors

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