Thesis:

Knowledge and Risk Factors of Hepatitis B Disease Among Women Attending Antenatal Care at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, Arua, Uganda

Hepatitis B is a highly infectious disease with a prevalence of 4.3% among people aged 15-64 years, with a prevalence of 5.6% in men compared to 3.1% in women in Uganda. Mother-to-child transmission accounts for nearly 50% of new cases per year, and infants who acquire hepatitis B disease before 5 years have a 90% chance of progressing to chronic hepatitis B infection. The study assessed the knowledge and risk factors of hepatitis B disease among women attending antenatal care (ANC) at Arua Regional Referral Hospital (ARRH), Uganda. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Antenatal care unit of Arua Regional Referral Hospital. Convenience sampling was used, and a sample size of 384 was calculated. Each participant was screened for HBsAg using commercial rapid test kits and evaluated using a structured questionnaire and. A hepatitis B basic knowledge summary score was used to assess the of knowledge of the participants on hepatitis B. Data analysis was carried out using MICROSOFT EXCEL-2013 and STATA version 14 packages. Poor knowledge levels of hepatitis B disease stood at 17.9%, while 82.1% of the pregnant women had adequate knowledge. A prevalence of 2.05% was obtained from the participants in the study. None of the assessed risk factors was significantly associated with HBsAg positivity. The study participants were knowledgeable to a great extent about hepatitis B disease, with 82.1% exhibiting good knowledge of hepatitis B disease. There are gaps in knowledge, especially among the low educated groups, which need to be addressed to improve knowledge levels of hepatitis B disease among these categories in the community. The results show a relatively healthy population given the low prevalence of 2.05% seen in the participants of the study. The absence of a risk factor associated with hepatitis B disease in this study does not imply that there are no risk factors in the community around Arua Regional Referral Hospital. Further studies are recommended to assess more risk factors for hepatitis B disease in the community