The Level of Knowledge about Hepatitis C among Individuals who Refer to Pre-marriage Centers in Tehran: A Cross-sectional Study

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Baqiyatallah Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases (BRCGL), Clinical Sciences Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Student Research Committee, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Aim: The global health strategy aims to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030. Increasing public knowledge is the turning point and key to eradicating this health-threatening disease. Therefore, people's knowledge of hepatitis is considered a determinant of success. People are usually not educated about this disease, and without the appearance of new symptoms, they are neither asked for a test nor seek a diagnosis of the disease themselves. The first step is to understand the current situation to reach the goal and make a decision. In this study, we decided to evaluate the level of knowledge of people referring to health centers in Tehran from September 2021 to February 2022 about HCV infection.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 18 authorized health centers for premarital tests were used as sampling clusters for the study, and the knowledge of people referring to those centers was measured and analyzed using a valid questionnaire. Transmission, treatment, and the necessity of HCV infection screening were the three factors of the questionnaire.
Results: A total of 2534 people aged 14 to 84 participated in this study. Meanwhile, 30.3% of the participants reported that they had not heard anything about HCV infection, and more than 70% did not know which part of the body is involved in HCV infection. About 80% of people did not know that hepatitis C has a definitive treatment, and there is no effective vaccine for it. The average overall knowledge of transmission, treatment, and the necessity of HCV screening was evaluated as 38.77%. The results showed that people with more study hours had a significantly higher knowledge score about HCV infection (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Our findings confirm that the overall knowledge about HCV infection in the high-risk population is alarmingly low. Although further studies are necessary to confirm our findings, adopting knowledge-enhancing strategies is recommended.

Keywords

Journal of Military Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 2 - Serial Number 132
July and August 2025
Pages 2746-2756

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