Background Hepatitis C is currently one of the most serious epidemiological problems worldwide. Due to no specific method of prevention, prophylactic measures focus on spreading the knowledge about the routes of infection with the virus and risk factors for contracting the disease as well as the situations which increase the probability of virus transmission.

Objective To evaluate of the knowledge of the patients about hepatitis C.

Material and Methods The study was conducted in 2014 with the use of an original questionnaire among 200 patients of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Medical University of Lublin and the members of support groups for HCV patients in Lublin and Warsaw. The questionnaire included some questions about the risk factors for HCV infection, the course and symptoms of hepatitis C and the sources of information about the disease.

Results Most of the respondents associate the risk of HCV infection with the provision of health services whereas they know much less about other routes of transmission. More than 25% of the subjects describe their level of knowledge about the disease as insufficient.

Conclusions The level of knowledge of the study group is good but it needs to be upgraded as it was pointed out by the respondents themselves. The main sources of knowledge about hepatitis C are doctors and the Internet. Few respondents obtained their knowledge from other media, which may mean that the problem of HCV infection received little publicity, which in turn translates into poor awareness of the general population.

Juszczyk J. Zakażenia wirusami heaptotropowymi. W: Dziubka Z, Choroby zakaźne i pasożytnicze. Warszawa: PZWL; 1996: 239-240.

Franek G, Chłopecka H, Cabaj M. Ocena stanu wiedzy na temat wirusowego zapalenia wątroby typu C wśród nosicieli i chorych. Ann Univ Mariae Curie Sklodowska [Med]. 2005; 60: 463-466.

Polska Grupa Ekspertów HCV. Oświadczenie Polskiej Grupy Ekspertów HCV na temat Wirusowego Zapalenia Wątroby typu C w Polsce w 2012 roku. [cytowany 23.01.2017].http://akademiawzwc.pl/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/RAPORT_PGE_HCV-11.pdf

World Health Organization. Fact sheet N°164. Updated July 2016. Hepatitis C. [cited 2017 Jan 23]. Available from: http://who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs164/en/

Muhlberger N, Schwarzer R, Lettmeier B, Sroczynski G, Zeuzem S, Siebert U. HCV-related burden of disease in Europe: a systematic assessment of incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. BMC Public Health. 2009; 9-34.

Godzik P, Kołakowska A, Madaliński K., Stępień M, Zieliński A, Góralewska A i wsp. Rozpowszechnienie przeciwciał anty-HCV wśród osób dorosłych w Polsce – wyniki badania przekrojowego w populacji ogólnej. Prze Epidemiol. 2012; 66: 575-580.

Juszczyk J. Piętnaście lat badań na wirusem C zapalenia wątroby w Polsce. Przegląd Epidemiologiczny 2005; 59: 373-384.

Muszyńska A., Pokorna-Kałwak D., Steciwko A. Zakażenia HCV – narastający problem zdrowia publicznego. Terapia Medycyna Rodzinna 2010; 5: 55-58.

Kajko M., Ślusarczyk J., Czarkowski M., Rosińska M. Profil osoby z objawowym wirusowym zapaleniem wątroby typu C w Polsce. Przegląd Epidemiologiczny 2012; 66: 351-356.

Norton BL, Voils CI, Stout JE. Community-based HCV screening: knowledge and attitudes in a high risk urban population. BMC Infect Dis 2014, 14: 74-81.

Badanie Gfk Polonia. Wiedza Polaków o WZW C – www.akademiawzwc.pl [dostęp 23.01.2017].

Balfour L., Kowal J., Corace K.M. i wsp. Increasing publin awareness about hepatitis C: development and validation of the brie hepatitis C knowledge scale. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science 2009; 23: 801-808.

Hassan S.G., El-Ghitany E.M., El-Sheikh W. Knowledge, attitude and lifestyle changes among chronic hepatitis C patients in Alexandria, Egypt: A fear-appeal intervention. J. Am. Sci. 2012; 8: 73–79.

Barański K., Szuba E., Olszanecka-Glinianowicz M., Chudek J. Czynniki socjodemograficzne wpływające na poziom wiedzy dotyczącej dróg szerzenia się zakażenia w kontaktach niezwiązanych z procedurami medycznymi wśród pacjentów z WZW typu C. Annales Academiae Medicae Silesiensis 2013; 67 (5): 294-302.

Guirgis M., Yan K., Bu M.Y., Zekry A. General practitioners’ knowledge and management of viral hepatitis in the migrant population. Intern. Med. J. 2011; 7: 497–504.