Viral hepatitis prevention education: what do people and providers need to know?

Although hepatitis has been on the decline overall, tens of thousands of new infections are still projected for the coming years. Few studies have investigated the basic (core) educational concepts that are essential to understanding viral hepatitis. This study surveyed three categories of people: (hepatitis 'experts', healthcare providers, and patients) to gather ideas for core concepts for two populations (healthcare providers and patients). The first round of data collection generated ideas for concepts and the second round provided rank orderings. Statistical analyses standardized the suggestions, and provided a numerical system of inclusion and exclusion of concepts. From this process, four lists of core concepts were compiled: hepatitis A, B, and C (individually) for healthcare providers, and hepatitis A, B, and C (combined) for patients. These concepts are useful for educators, nurses and trainers in designing hepatitis prevention materials, counseling patients about hepatitis prevention, and teaching healthcare providers about hepatitis prevention.