[Carriers of hepatitis B and C virus, level of their information]. / Portadores de los virus de la hepatitis B y C. Estudio sobre su nivel de información.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To determine the degree of health information patients infected by Hepatitis B or C have regarding their illness. 2) To ascertain if relatives of these patients are also infected by Hepatitis B or C. METHOD: This was an observational cross study which analyzed the data obtained from 100 questionnaires filled out by patients infected by Hepatitis B or C under the control of the Digestive Pathologies Dispensary at the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona. The questionnaire was designed in order to evaluate the degree of information patients have concerning: A) means of transmission, B) preventative measures and their use, C) home/family environment. RESULTS: 85 patients indicate they had received information; of these, 73% consider their information to be satisfactory and of these, only 24% were familiar with the means of transmission this disease has. Finally, only 11 stated they correctly followed preventative measures. CONCLUSIONS: 1) The vast majority of the patients affected by Hepatitis B or C have a deficient level of information concerning the means of transmission and of prophylactic measures. 2) The prevalence of intrafamily infection cases studied is high. 3) We conclude that patients infected by Hepatitis B have significantly more information regarding the means of infection than do those patients infected by Hepatitis C. 4) The majority of the patients studied do not recognize the educational role nurses have concerning their health.