title: Knowledge of and risky behaviours towards hepatitis B virus infection among Egyptian school children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Success in the prevention of hepatitis B virus (HBV) depends to a large extent on the adolescents' HBV knowledge and their risky behaviours. This study aims to assess the knowledge of and the risky behaviours towards HBV among school students and to determine the significant predictors affecting their knowledge.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was approved in four Egyptian governorates (Dakahleya, Gharbeya, Cairo, and Beni-Suef) on 574 students aged 11-17years. A questionnaire was filled through a face-to-face interview to collect data about the socio-demographic character, HBV knowledge, and risky behaviours among children who were chosen for this study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While 75% of students had poor levels of HBV knowledge, 1.7% had good levels of knowledge. As regards gender, more than 60% of students shared scissors and went to dental clinic with no significant difference. While boys reported a significant history of hospitalisation (50.2%) and wound stitches (36%), girls reported a lesser degree of the same (40.2% and 22.6, respectively), p<0.01. During logistic regression analysis, the most important predictors of poor HBV knowledge were age <15years and living in Cairo governorate, with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.5 and 5.0, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of students chosen for the study had low levels of knowledge and high risky behaviours towards viral hepatitis. In order to minimise the risky behaviours among adolescents, health education programmes should be conducted concerning the mode of transmission and prevention of viral hepatitis.
authors.affiliation: Child Health Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Samia M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sami
authors.affiliation: Community Medicine Research Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Iman I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Salama
authors.affiliation: Community Medicine Research Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: dodacambo@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Dalia M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Elmosalami
authors.affiliation: Community Medicine Research Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ghada A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Abdel-Latif
authors.affiliation: Community Medicine Research Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Amany T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Abdel Hamid
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: HBV; Knowledge; Risky behaviours