Objective To investigate the awareness of prevention against occupational exposure to hepatitis C among vocational medical students, so as to provide evidence for developing education strategy of occupation hepatitis C prevention and control.
Methods By cluster sampling, 608 medical students from a vocational college were selected for a self-designed questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included basic information and awareness of prevention of hepatitis C occupational exposure.
Results The total awareness rate of hepatitis C-related occupational exposure prevention knowledge was 65.20%; specifically, the awareness rates in nursing, laboratory, clinical students were 65.64%, 70.60%, and 69.26%, respectively. Boys presented a higher correct rate than girls on hepatitis C spreading through intimate contact (such as hugging or talking), breastfeeding, and endoscopic examination (P < 0.05). Girls presented a higher correct rate than boys on hepatitis C spreading through blood transfusions or blood products (P < 0.05). Students of different majors showed varying awareness rates of hepatitis C-related occupational protection knowledge. Overall, the laboratory and clinical students showed higher awareness than the nursing students.
Conclusion The awareness level of hepatitis C-related occupational protection is on the low side among the vocational medical students. The results indicate that colleges and universities should strengthen education and training on occupational protection against hepatitis C.
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