Arshad Kamal Butt, Ayyaz Ali Khan.
A Pilot study of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of Barbers and Unqualified Dentists in Transmission of Hepatitis Band C in an Urban and Rural Setting in Punjab.
Proceeding Shaikh Zayed Postgrad Med Comp Jan ;21(2):75-81.

Chronic viral hepatitis secondary to hepatitis B and C infections with its sequale of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma has emerged as a modern day epidemic worldwide with huge sections of population being afflicted by these diseases both in underdeveloped and developed countries. More than 10 million people in Pakistan are estimated to suffer from chronic hepatitis B and C. Treatment of chronic viral hepatitis is expensive and effective in only 50% of patients. Urgent measures are therefore needed to curtail the spread of viral hepatitis by focusing on the possible routes of spread including but not limited to unsafe use of therapeutic injections, blood transfusion, surgical interventions, shaving from barbers, tattooing, mother to child transmission and unsafe sexual practices. Barbers and unqualified dental surgeons without adequate sterilization facilities could play an important role in the spread and transmission of hepatitis B and C. A pilot KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) Survey of barbers and street dentists from an urban and a rural location in Punjab was carried out in November.2006 to determine the state of knowledge, attitudes and practices of the above two groups regarding risk of transmission of HBV and HCV as well as to evaluate differences in these parameters between the urban and rural population. This study has revealed that while knowledgeable about the transmission of hepatitis, attitudes and practices regarding prevention of transmission by the two groups of professionals were very unsatisfactory. Additionally on all the domains measured in this pilot study, urban professionals did better than their rural counterparts.

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