MINISTRY OF HEALTH UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING - MINISTRY OF HEALTH HANOI UNIVERSITY OF PUBLIC HEALTH SOULIKONE PHAVONGXAY KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS HEPATITIS B VIRUS PREVENTION AMONG ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL (ARMY HEADQUARTERS 605) IN VIENTIANE CAPITAL, LAO PDR IN 2019 MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH CODE: 8720701 HANOI, 2020 MINISTRY OF HEALTH UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING - MINISTRY OF HEALTH HANOI UNIVERSITY OF PUBLIC HEALTH SOULIKONE PHAVONGXAY KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS HEPATITIS B VIRUS PREVENTION AMONG ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL (ARMY HEADQUARTERS 605) IN VIENTIANE CAPITAL, LAO PDR IN 2019 MASTERS OF PUBLIC HEALTH CODE: 8720701 SUPERVISORS: KONGMANY CHALEUNVONG, PhD DR. LE THI KIM ANH MD, PhD VICE DIRECTOR INSTITUTE OF DEPARTMENT OF BIOSTATISTICS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOUNDATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSITY OF SCEINCES, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES PUBLIC HEALTH HANOI, 2020 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This independent study would not have been possible without the help and support of many people. I am very thankful to the Ministry of Health of the Lao PDR and the LEARN project for funding my studies at the University of Health Sciences in Laos and the Hanoi University of Public Health in Vietnam. The assistance of the Department of Personal Health, Ministry of Health is also gratefully acknowledged for allowing me to study at the University of Health Sciences in Laos and the Hanoi University of Public Health in Vietnam.
I would like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Kongmany Chaleunvong, the Vice Director of the Institute of Research and Education Development, University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lao PDR and Dr. Le Thi Kim Anh, MD, PhD, from the Department of Biostatistics, Health Data Science, Faculty of Foundational Sciences, Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH), Vietnam, who steered me in the right direction whenever needed. I would like to acknowledge the valuable comments and encouragement from the examination chair of my Independent Study Committee and I also wish to thank the external members of the Independent Study Committee.
I am most grateful to the leadership and personnel of the 605th Army Headquarters, who kindly agreed to help and participate in this research. This study could not have been completed without their generous assistance. I am grateful as well to all the lecturers, teachers and staff of the UHS and HUPH for their continuous assistance and helpful advice. I would like to thank my classmates for their kindness during my studies at UHS and HUPH.
Finally, I would like to thank my family for their love, understanding, support, and encouragement during the time I was studying in Laos and Vietnam. Soulikone Phavongxay ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .i TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF FIGURES .2 Definitions of knowledge of and attitudes towards HBV prevention .4 Factors associated with knowledge of- and attitudes towards HBV prevention11 1.2 Study site and duration.6 Data collection method .1 Demographic information of participants .2 Knowledge of and attitudes towards HBV prevention .3 Factors related to knowledge of HBV prevention .4 Multiple logistic regression analysis of dependent and independent variables44 CHAPTER 4 .51 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 62 Annex 2: Certificate of approval.
72 Annex 3: Consent form. 74 Annex 4: Thesis comments. 76 Annex 5: Minutes of explanation after thesis defence. 83 iv ABBREVIATIONS DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid HBV Hepatitis B Virus KAP Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Lao PDR Lao People‟s Democratic Republic UN United Nations WHO World Health Organization LSB Lao Statistics Bureau v LIST OF TABLES Table 3.2 Distribution of sources of information on HBV prevention .3 Distribution of information on social factors relating to HBV prevention .4 Knowledge of the nature of HBV .5 Level of knowledge of nature of HBV .6 Knowledge of HBV transmission .7 Level of knowledge of HBV transmission.8 Knowledge of HBV prevention .9 Level of knowledge of HBV prevention .10 Knowledge of nature, transmission and prevention of HBV .11 Attitudes towards HBV prevention .12 Level of attitudes towards HBV prevention .13a Association of knowledge level of HBV prevention with individual factors .14 Association of knowledge of HBV prevention with social factors .