Introduction: Information on knowledge related to HIV/AIDS and HBV is essential in identifying populations most at risk for infection and in better understanding the dynamics of the epidemic.
Objective: Determination of knowledge about HIV and HBV infection in trained and untrained hairdressers in Rasht.
Methods: In a cross- sectional study in spring of 2006, 456 hairdressers completed a self- administered questionnaire about routes of transmission and prevention of HIV and HBV infection. The questions were designed according to the standard questionnaire of WHO. It contained three parts, demographic, knowledge and source of knowledge. Level of knowledge was classified to weak, moderate and good according to the knowledge scores. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 11.5. We used chi-square test for statistical analysis. P-value<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: About 59% of hairdressers were trained about occupational health. More than 90% of subjects believed that AIDS and Hepatitis-B are an important public health problem in Iran. Knowledge level of most of subjects (76%) was in moderate level. In trained group level of appropriate knowledge toward HBV and HIV was 17.3% and 29% and in untrained women 3.6% and 9.4% respectively (P<0.001). The most important source of knowledge in trained hairdressers was health training classes and in second group was TV.
Conclusion: Knowledge level of trained subjects was higher than others but not adequate.
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