Hepatitis Disease and Adoption of Control Measures by Farmers of Taluka Hala, District Matiari, Sindh

Abstract

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the awareness level of hepatitis disease and its precautionary and protection measures adopted by the farming community of Taluka Hala. The sample size of the study was 100 respondents, 52% were female and 48% were male respondents which were randomly selected from the study area. The survey method was used and a questionnaire was developed for the data collection. It was found the overwhelming majority of respondents (99.0%) had heard about hepatitis, while 82.0% respondents had knowledge about hepatitis as a serious health problem, whereas 64.0% of the respondents had knowledge about hepatitis is viral disease. The study depicted that only 2.0% of respondents had knowledge that there are five types of hepatitis. The majority of respondents had awareness about hepatitis is curable or treatable, hepatitis transmitted by un-sterilized syringes, needles or any other surgical equipment and hepatitis transmitted by sharing razors, toothbrush, spoons/bowls for food etc. The majority of respondents had fully adopted the precautionary measures as particularly cooking food, clean themselves thoroughly if they come into contact with any type of body fluid from an infected person (such as blood and feces), hygienically dispose of blood stained items such as bandages and sanitary napkins, avoid sharing personal items, such as razors or toothbrushes, good hygiene practices, avoid un-necessary injections, cover cuts and scratches with appropriate dressings and vaccination against hepatitis immediately after birth. In addition, the majority of respondents had adopted the precautionary measures as take rest and stays hydrated, maintaining a healthy diet, clean and sterile equipment and avoid from sliced fruit that may have been washed in contaminated water. Majority of the respondents contacted consultant and visit hospital as effective sources of knowledge.