Ashraf Chaudhry, Farwa Rizvi, Muhammad Zeeshan Ashraf, Muhammad Afzal Saira Niazi.
Knowledge and practices of barbers regarding hepatitis B and hepatitis C in Bahra Kahu, Islamabad - Pakistan.
Rawal Med J Jan ;35(1):37-40.

Objective: To determine the knowledge and practices of barbers from Bahra Kahu, Islamabad, regarding risk of transmission of HBV and HCV. Subjects and Methods: Forty-one barbers were selected by consecutive sampling from the Bara Kaho locality from August 2008 to November 2008 for this cross- section study. The participants were interviewed regarding their knowledge about hepatitis, its mode of transmission, risk of transmission with razors re-use, change of blade, and the media they use for information and entertainment. Results: The age range of participants was 14 to 60 years (mean 27.06±9.37). Majority of the them were uneducated (61%) while some had maximum education level of eighth grade. 46.3 % had a job experience of 6-10 years and 14.6 % had more than 10 years of working experience. Only 38 % had knowledge of hepatitis B and C and 20.5% had knowledge of different types of hepatitis. Almost all the barbers (97.4%) had practice of using new blade for every customer. Trend of vaccination against hepatitis B was very low (10.3%). Conclusion: The attitudes and practices of barbers regarding the use of new blades and the disposal of sharps were very good. However, they had very little knowledge of the routes of spread of hepatitis B and C. (Rawal Med J 2010;35: 37-40).

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