Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jan 18:4:2.
doi: 10.1186/s40779-016-0110-5. eCollection 2017.

A survey of knowledge about hepatitis B among new military recruits in China

Yuan-Yuan Li  1 , Wei-Wei Chen  1 , Lei Wei  1 , Yang-Xin Xie  1 , Li-Feng Wang  1 , Jun-Liang Fu  1 , Fu-Sheng Wang  1
Affiliations

A survey of knowledge about hepatitis B among new military recruits in China

Yuan-Yuan Li et al. Mil Med Res. .

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B is a disease that affects the liver and is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B is a serious public health problem in China. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge of and behaviours towards the transmission and prevention of hepatitis B of new military recruits in China.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 800 new military recruits. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect information, and 727 questionnaires were returned completed. Analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the respondents, 665 (91.5%) were male and 62 (8.5%) were female. The mean age was 18.9 ± 1.7 years. A total of 608 respondents (83.6%) demonstrated poor knowledge and 119 (16.4%) adequate knowledge about HBV. Older age, female and higher education level were statistically associated with a higher mean knowledge score. Multivariate logistic regression showed that age (OR = 3.040, 95%CI 1.724-5.359, P < 0.001) and gender (OR = 1.791, 95%CI 1.325-2.421, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with appropriate behavioural practices towards prevention of HBV.

Conclusion: Against a backdrop of high HBV prevalence in China, new military recruits had poor knowledge of HBV. New recruits need better education about HBV to assist in reducing and preventing HBV infection.

Keywords: China; Hepatitis B virus; Infection; Knowledge; New recruits.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart showing the screening process for inclusion in this study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Chart indicating hepatitis B vaccination status prior to recruitment
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Chart showing the attitudes of respondents to hepatitis B carriers. a Contact with hepatitis B carriers; b Dealing with hepatitis B carriers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Te HS, Jensen DM. Epidemiology of hepatitis B and C viruses: A global overview. Clin Liver Dis. 2010;14:1–21. doi: 10.1016/j.cld.2009.11.009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Perz JF, Armstrong GL, Farrington LA, Hutin YJ, Bell BP. The contributions of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections to cirrhosis and primary liver cancer worldwide. J Hepatol. 2006;45:529–38. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2006.05.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schweitzer A, Horn J, Mikolajczyk RT, Krause G, Ott JJ. Estimations of worldwide prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection: A systematic review of data published between 1965 and 2013. Lancet. 2015;386:1546–55. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61412-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. He J, Gu D, Wu X, et al. Major causes of death among men and women in China. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:1124–34. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa050467. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zou L, Zhang W, Ruan S. Modeling the transmission dynamics and control of hepatitis B virus in China. J Theor Biol. 2010;262:330–8. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.09.035. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types