Misconceptions about hepatitis C in the Togolese public.

Abstract

To characterize the Togolese public's understanding of hepatitis C (HC). Two convenience samples in Togo-282 lay people and 30 health professionals (22 nurses, 8 physicians)-indicated in 2006 their level of agreement with the same 94 statements about HC evaluated by French hepatologists (the reference group of experts) in 2003 and by French lay people in 1997. Their mean responses were compared using Student's T-test, and correlations were calculated between each group's series of responses and between their significant differences from the experts. The mean absolute differences between experts and Tologese lay persons, nurses, and physicians were 4.33, 3.72, and 2.57 (on a scale of 0-10). The correlations between the mean responses of experts and Togolese lay persons, nurses, and physicians were .34, .42, and .44. For the significant differences from experts, the correlation between Tologese lay persons and French lay people in 1997 was .94, and the correlations between Tologese lay persons and Togolese nurses and doctors were .94 and .74. For all these results, p<.001. Togolese lay persons, and even health professionals, appear to have misconceptions about HC that may lead to stigmatization and incorrect treatment of persons infected with HC.