الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Health care providers are one of the most high risk groups of contracting blood borne viruses through direct or indirect contact with infectious substances like blood or bodily secretions.
Health care workers and medical students who have good knowledge and high risk perception about the issue can easily minimize the risk of BBVs transmission to themselves and their community through the interruption of the infectious agent chain.
Interrupting transmission can be achieved through application of infection control procedures and precautions during providing the health service or during the training courses.
Good knowledge and perception as well as ongoing practices of IC measures ensure the prevention from the occupational exposure to these viruses and consider that practices as policy of protection could be an effective manner of obtaining the required prevention.
The present study is designed to study knowledge and risk perception of medical sciences students regarding blood borne viruses at the High Institute of Health Sciences in Sana’a, Republic of Yemen.
Across sectional approach was used in the implementation of the study which was conducted in the High Institute of Health Sciences department of Laboratories Technicians and Nursing, Sana’a. All students enrolled in the selected departments in first, second, and final years were included in the study. They amounted to 297.
Data were collected using a pre-coded self-administrated questionnaire and a pre constructed sheet for data about courses. The questionnaire included data about the following items: sociodemographic and academic information, knowledge about blood borne viruses, knowledge about prevention of blood borne viruses and risk perception.
The main findings of study included the following:
• The study showed that about half of the students were 52.5% of males and 47.5% of females. And 64.3% in the 21-24 age group. About 50.8% of students study nursing and 49.2% study laboratory technology at three academic levels.
• The main sources of student information about blood-borne viruses were: 58.2% of the public media, 50.5% of the Internet, 26.9% of physicians, 16.2% from friends (8.7%) of the teachers (8.1%) of the family members (7.7%) of the training programs, while (1.7%) said that they heard about it for the first time in the brochures.
• The study revealed that the degree of knowledge varies between the students of the Institute, where the nursing students have the best result (84.0) followed by students of medical laboratories (65, 8). The average overall good knowledge of respondents was 75 and the average of poor knowledge was 25. The differences in knowledge among students by sections were statistically high significant.
• The study showed that participants aged 21-24 had the highest knowledge and awareness of risk (78.9) of those aged 17-20 which was (67.9). The difference in knowledge and perception of risk among these age groups was statistically significance.
• The highest score was (86.0) among the third year students, followed by 77.0 among second-year students while 61.5 among the first-year students. These differences were statistically high significant.
• Analysis of the curriculum of nursing students, only microbiology subject contains information about BBVs. The time planned for the weekly lectures is not enough to study all viruses with their details.
• For medical laboratories technology students, they have blood transfusion subject and another subject about virology and mycology which is not enough to study the blood borne viruses in details.
• The overall knowledge level of the students about BBVs and perception was not satisfactory regarding symptoms, availability of vaccines and effectivity of HBV vaccine.
• Logistic regression analysis for the risk perception scores of students about BBVs showed that age, study year and department were the predictors of good score.
• The majority of students 252 (84.8) believe they are not infected by any BBVs, this could be due to the fear of punitive action as non- employment or social stigma from training accidental exposure.
• There was a positive relation between the overall knowledge with the risk perception regarding the prevention and control of BBVs.
• The overall knowledge and perception of nursing students is better than that of laboratories technicians cOR= 0.82(0, 034, 0.199), X2 =43.067, P=0.000.
• Logistic regression analysis shows that the study year and department had a significant impact on good overall score about BBVs. The ROC curve of probability calculated from binary logistic regression model among students shows that the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.715.
• The level of students’ good knowledge was 58.9% while the level of good perception of the students about BBVs was 81.5%.
• The common determinants for students’ knowledge and risk perception about BBVs included mass media and the internet 58.2% and 50.5% respectively were advanced both age and academic year in addition to the department in which the intensive training programs were involved. There was no direct correlation between the overall knowledge and perception with the BBVs content in the curriculum.
The following are the main recommendations of the study:
• The base of knowledge about BBVs prevention must be obtained during the courses learning and translated to practices during practical training.
• Work on improving students’ perceptions to the best through periodic reviewing the curriculum syllabus in order to raise the skills and knowledge about BBVs prevention among them.
• Intensive training programs and health education programs for students including making guidelines of infection control in Yemen to increase the awareness about modes of transmission and prevention of blood borne viruses.
• Screening of blood borne viruses for students before enrollment and before the graduation in order to assessing any reasons if infection occur before graduation.
• Blood borne viruses content and standard infection control precautions should be essential components of the curriculum of the High institute of Health Sciences.
• Special attention with periodic supervision and monitoring for the application of infection control practices by students during their practical lessons.
• Providing health institutes with all educational requirements and checking for the curriculums and education quality.
• Providing hepatitis B virus vaccine in the institute free for non-vaccinated students.
• Further studies are needed to assess the knowledge and risk perception of other institutes in the other governorates of Yemen.