A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON THE AWARENESS OF THE GENERAL POPULATION IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN TOWARDS HEPATITIS B VIRUS AND THE DISEASE

Abstract

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) causes a serious infection that has been increasingly spreading in Pakistan in recent years. The probable causes may include illiteracy, absence of appropriate health services, and less community awareness about the spread of major infectious diseases. This study has evaluated the awareness of HBV infection in different areas of Karachi. A survey-based questionnaire with a total of 25 awareness questions was filled out by the general population as well as people related to the medical field. The data was analyzed using the SPSS version 20 and chi-square tests were used for the p-significance value. A total of 646 responses were collected out of which, 56.50% were medical personnel and 43.50% belong to the general population. In the current study the awareness of HBV was categorized into highly aware, moderately aware, and less awareness level and it was assessed based on gender, marital status, residential area, and educational background. The awareness level was found to be very low in the general population mostly belonging to the rural areas, which ultimately leads to the morbidity rate of hepatitis B virus infection. To improve the level of awareness about infectious diseases, it is necessary to conduct awareness campaigns among people that are not related to the medical community.