Assessment of Acute Hepatitis C patients’ Performance regarding Self-Care Management for Complications Prevention

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is an important public health problem in both developedand developing countries specifically Egypt which contains the highest prevalence of hepatitis C inthe world. The aim of this study was to assess acute hepatitis C patients’ performance regardingself-care management for complications prevention. Research design: A descriptive researchdesign was used. Setting: this study was conducted in hepatic department at Benha Fever Hospital.Sample: A purposive sample of 120 acute hepatitis C patients admitted in the previous mentionedsetting. Tool: Patients’ interviewing questionnaire that included the following parts; sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge and self-reported practice assessment regarding self-caremanagement. Results: More than half of studied subjects had unsatisfactory knowledge score andadequate practice score regarding self-care management. There was no statistically significantrelation between patients' knowledge and their demographic data. There were statisticallysignificant relations between patients’ practice and their demographic data; marital status,educational level and gender. While, there were no statistically significant relation betweenpatients’ practice and age, residence, occupation, monthly income P˃0.05. Conclusion: Nearly twothirds of the studied subjects had unsatisfactory knowledge score regarding HCV and self-caremanagement for complications prevention. However, more than half of them had adequate self-caremanagement practice. The study recommended that development of health education program forHCV patients and their families to teach them how to apply self-care management practices forcomplications prevention is very important.