Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards hepatitis B and C viruses among the population of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo

Document Type : Scientific Research

Authors

1 Clinical Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi-DRC.

2 Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and natural substances, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi-DRC

3 Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and natural substances, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi-DRC.

4 Center of excellence and expertise for viral hepatitis and other pathologies, Lubumbashi-DRC

5 Faculty of Medecine, University of Lubumbashi

6 Faculty of Medicine, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi-DRC

7 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi-DRC.

8 Catholic University of Louvain, Microbiology Laboratory

9 Faculty of Pharmaceuticals Sciences, University of Lubumbashi

Abstract

Background
Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infection remains significant public health problem worldwide. Unfortunately, the Democratic Republic of Congo is in an area of high endemicity, and its population remains poorly informed about these viral infections. Therefore, this study aims to determine Lubumbashi's knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward HBV and HCV.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study from March to August 2022 in Lubumbashi. A total of 704 participants were enrolled. We targeted all people of both sexes and ages. The participants' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey was assessed using online and printed or paper questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 software.
Results
Of the 704 participants, 70.9% had poor knowledge of viral hepatitis B and C, whereas 28.6% had terrible attitudes towards these infections and preferred to consult traditional healers instead of going to the hospital. A minority of the participants (12.2%) had good practices, those as being screened regularly to exclude any possible infection and being willing to be vaccinated depending on the availability of the HBV vaccine. Most participants (69.2%) needed to be aware of drugs that could effectively treat these infections.
Conclusion
Knowledge and practice about HBV and HCV in the Congolese population living in Lubumbashi have proven wrong. Similarly, the attitudes of the people towards these infections were negative. Therefore, an extensive health education program should be given to increase the awareness of this part of the Congolese population about HBV and HCV infection to provide better care.

Keywords

Copyright ©. This open-access article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution, or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited. The original publication in this journal is cited by accepted academic practice. No use, distribution, or reproduction is permitted, complying with these terms. Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent their affiliated organizations or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product evaluated in this article or its manufacturer's claim is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. Data availability All the data obtained and analyzed are included in this manuscript. Conflicts of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding source The authors funded this study on their own. Authors, contributions A.K., A.L., and B.K. designed and performed all the experiments. A.K., H.M., C.M., C.K., and C.K. wrote the manuscript in consultation with S.M., A.M., C.M., A.N., and A.L.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics