Misconceptions about hepatitis C in the Togolese public.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the Togolese public's understanding of hepatitis C (HC).


METHODS
Two convenience samples in Togo-282 lay people and 30 health professionals (22 nurses, 8 physicians)-indicated in 2006 their level of agreement with the same 94 statements about HC evaluated by French hepatologists (the reference group of experts) in 2003 and by French lay people in 1997. Their mean responses were compared using Student's T-test, and correlations were calculated between each group's series of responses and between their significant differences from the experts.


RESULTS
The mean absolute differences between experts and Tologese lay persons, nurses, and physicians were 4.33, 3.72, and 2.57 (on a scale of 0-10). The correlations between the mean responses of experts and Togolese lay persons, nurses, and physicians were .34, .42, and .44. For the significant differences from experts, the correlation between Tologese lay persons and French lay people in 1997 was .94, and the correlations between Tologese lay persons and Togolese nurses and doctors were .94 and .74. For all these results, p<.001.


CONCLUSIONS
Togolese lay persons, and even health professionals, appear to have misconceptions about HC that may lead to stigmatization and incorrect treatment of persons infected with HC.
Kpanake
Lonzozou
L
McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Mullet
Etienne
E
Sastre
María Teresa Muñoz
MT
Sorum
Paul Clay
PC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D010820:Physicians; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014037:Togo; D055815:Young Adult