Risk Behaviors of Hepatitis C Viral Infection among Secondary School Students, Cairo Governorate

Background: Hepatitis C virus is an emerging global epidemic disease and Egypt reported the highest incidence in the world. Adolescents are thought to be at risk because of their high-risk behaviors. So raising their awareness about risk behavior of hepatitis C viral infection to protect themselves.Aim of the Study: Was to assess the risk behaviors of hepatitis C viral infection among secondary school students, Cairo Governorate.Design: A descriptive cross sectional research design was utilized in this study.Setting: The study was conducted at three governmental secondary schools at Cairo Governorate. A stratified random sample of 300 secondary school students representing 1st, 2nd and 3rd grad year were included in the study. Three tools were utilized in this study. I: Structured demographic characteristic. II: Structured knowledge assessment. III: Risk behaviors assessment tool.Results: Indicated that, the mean age of the students was 16.77±0.998 years, 63% were females. More than two fifths of the students had average knowledge, while two fifths of them had good knowledge about hepatitis C virus disease; the majority (90.7%) of them had higher level of total risk behaviors. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the student s total risk behavior scores and their age and sex, while a statistically significant negative correlation was found between the student s total risk behaviors scores and their parent s education.Conclusions: The study concluded that, the common risk behaviors reported by the students were; tattooing; piercing ear with unsterile instrument and sharing tools and not vaccinated against hepatitis B virus.Recommendations: The study recommended implementation of intervention program for secondary school students to raise their awareness about hepatitis C virus, and to reduce their risk behaviors.