Abstract:
BACKGROUND : Data on viral hepatitis in South Africa is scarce. Although viral hepatitis A, B and C are notifiable
conditions in South Africa, discrepancies have been noted in the number of viral hepatitis cases notified by the
National Department of Health (NDOH) compared with laboratory confirmed cases from the National Institute for
Communicable Diseases (NICD). The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of
health care professionals on the notification of viral hepatitis A, B and C.
METHODS : A descriptive, cross-sectional study on 385 health care professionals was conducted at Charlotte Maxeke
Johannesburg Academic and Tshwane District hospitals in Gauteng province, South Africa, between March and May
2015. A pre-tested, structured questionnaire with 21 (6 demographic and 15 knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP))
questions was used to collect information from invited participants. A score was assigned to each KAP question and a
mean (SD) score was calculated for each section. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in STATA version 13.
RESULTS : Of the total 385 respondents, 65% (n = 250) were nurses and 35% (n = 135) were doctors. The overall mean
knowledge score for health care professionals was 2.0 ± 1.6 (mean ± SD) out of a score of 6 regarding viral hepatitis
notification. Overall mean scores of practice and attitude towards notification were higher at 2.9 ± 0.4 and 3.3 ± 0.7, out
of a score of 4 and 5, respectively. Lack of training, poor knowledge, a complex process and excessive workload were
some of the reasons for poor notification of viral hepatitis.
CONCLUSIONS : Overall, knowledge on notification of viral hepatitis was poor among health care professionals. Adequate
training on viral hepatitis, notification process, roles and responsibilities of health care professionals to notify and the
implication of viral hepatitis notifications is recommended to improve reporting rate of notifiable diseases and referrals
to increase linkage to care.
