title: The level of knowledge of, attitude toward and emphasis given to HBV and HCV infections among healthcare professionals: data from a tertiary hospital in Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the level of knowledge of, to investigate the attitudes toward, and to determine the emphasis given to the national prevalence of HBV/HCV infections among healthcare professionals.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 206 healthcare professionals (mean (SD) age: 37.0 (6.3) years; 86.9% - females) including medical laboratory technicians (N = 54) and nurses (N = 152) employed in the Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey. Laboratory (N = 53), operating room (N = 41) and in-patient clinic (N = 112) staff were included in this descriptive study. A 33-item questionnaire composed of questions related to their level of knowledge and attitudes toward HBV/HCV infections, the sources of their knowledge of HBV/HCV infections and the emphasis given to the national and global importance of the diseases was administered via a face-to-face interview method with each subject; participation was volunteer based.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants working in the in-patient clinic (18.0 (3.2)) had the highest mean (SD) knowledge level compared to the laboratory (16.4 (3.1), p < 0.05) and operating room (17.0 (2.8), p < 0.05) staff. The participants from the in-patient clinic (44.6%) had a more advanced level of knowledge compared to the participants working in the laboratory (27.8%, p < 0.05) and the operating room (30.0%, p < 0.05). Most of the subjects (60.7%) had education concerning HBV/HCV infections in the past. There was no significant difference between the hospital units in terms of the attitudes of healthcare workers (HCWs) toward HBV/HCV infections and the level of education concerning them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings revealed a moderate level of knowledge in most HCWs, regardless of their exposure to risk. While the highest knowledge scores and vaccination rates were noted among the in-patient clinic staff, there was no significant difference between the hospital units in terms of the attitudes of HCWs towards a patient or a colleague with an HBV/HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey. ayhancekin@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ayhan Hilmi
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Cekin
authors.forename: Yesim
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cekin
authors.forename: Aygul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000592:standards*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology