Muhammad Abdullah
Hepatitis is a serious public health issue of present era. According to World Health Organization Hepatitis virus is responsible for disease of liver. As per WHO more than 2 billion populations are suffering with Hepatitis infection, 620000 deaths related to HBV annually. WHO shows, 36 million healthcare professionals globally, 3 million get injury from sharps, resulting 2 million subjects being infected with HBV and 1 million with HCV annually. A systematic study of 2015 showed HCV seroprevalence in adult population of Pakistan was 6.8% whereas individuals infected with HCV were 6%.
A qualitative study, with Phenomological approach, was applied. In-depth interviews were conducted purposely and conveniently among 25 wardboys in tertiary care hospitals of Islamabad, 12 from public and 13 from private hospital till saturation.
It was found that wardboys lacked comprehensive knowledge about disease process and spread of disease. Majority of ward boys were unable to tell the basic standards and protocols of infection prevention. There were no refresher trainings for wardboys in both hospitals.
From this study wardboys working in private and public tertiary care hospitals are at high risk of acquiring HBV and HCV infection. They lacked knowledge about infective disease as well as ways to prevent its spread. Only a few of them have knowledge about personal protective equipments. It is important to conduct regular refresher trainings for all health care workers especially wardboys.