Knowledge of High School Students Regarding Risk Factors for Blood Borne Infection Transmission

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge level of high school students regarding risk factors for transmission of blood borne infection. Factors of interest in this study included vaccines, sharing of personal care items, methods used to eliminate pathogens, and Universal Health Precautions (UHP). UHP are recommended to prevent infection transmission between patients and health care workers. Even though the precautions were designed for hospitals, they should be used universally by people who do not wish to contract blood borne diseases. Health education is not a required part of high school education across the nation. This may be a particular problem for high school students who will be living outside their usual home environment in the near future. The aims were to evaluate the knowledge level of high school students regarding risk factors for transmission of blood borne infections. Methods: The method used was the creation and distribution of a brief 13 question survey. The survey was sent to a private school in Arlington, Texas and dispersed among the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. The target population consisted of 248 students with 184 (74%) completing the survey. Results: The majority of students that completed the survey were Caucasians (63%). According to the survey, 82% of students had never heard of UHP with only 11% realizing that UHP applied to all people regardless of disease status. On protective vaccine availability, 70% knew of the HBV vaccine; however, 46% and 30% thought there were vaccines for HCV and HIV, respectively. Sixty percent lacked knowledge that use of bleach was the best method to clean up a blood spill. Fifty-four percent of students were unaware that using an infected persons toothbrush or razor blade could transmit blood borne infections. The majority were aware of sexual transmission of HIV (89%) and that HIV cannot be transmitted with an ink pen or hairbrush (85%). Conclusion: We concluded that high school students lacked some basic knowledge of risk factors related to blood borne infection transmission. The majority of students were unaware of the importance of not sharing personal care items that are potentially contaminated with blood, how to clean up a blood spill, or handle an active bleeding episode where gloves may not be available. The high school students' awareness and knowledge of HIV transmission was higher than that for HCV. As most respondents thought there were vaccines for HIV and HCV, they may not utilize UHP when needed. UHP need to be a routine part of health education for teenagers. Programs to address issues related to transmission of blood borne infections and possible applications in teenagers' daily lives need to be developed.