Hepatitis B and C in Pakistan: A community survey

Objective To assess the efficacy of awareness campaign aimed at Hepatitis B and C in a rural community in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted on patients from a primary health care facility in Rawalpindi. The duration of the study was three months (April 2019 to June 2019). Patients who were registered at the facility were included after consent had been obtained. The data was collected through a self-constructed questionnaire. The data obtained was analyzed on IBM's statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 21 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Results Out of 35 participants, 16 (46%) were males and 19 (54%) were females. The mean age of the participants was 43.82 ± 19.56 years. The mean number of people in the house was 7.54 ± 3.88. Twenty nine (84%) participants were married while six (16%) participants were not. A majority of the participants had good prior knowledge about Hepatitis B and C. However, a few confusions remained about the mode of transmission, the vector for transmission if any and vaccination protocols. The campaign proved to reinforce many concepts and clear potential confusions of the participants. Conclusions This attempt at improving awareness proved to be fruitful. There is a dire need to ensure that multiple activities are organized so that the burden of the disease may be reduced. There will be a strong network of communication for flow of information if the activities occur regularly and in a focused manner.