A study on knowledge, attitude and practice about rabies among pharmacy students in a tertiary care hospital

ABSTRACT

Background: Rabies, a disease of antiquity, continues to be a major public health problem in India and itis 100% fatal. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about rabies among pharmacy students of Assam Medical College and Hospital, to assess whether there is any difference of knowledge, attitude and practice among male and female students and study the socio-demographic profile of the students. Materials &Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 156 pharmacy students by purposive sampling using pre designed structured close ended questionnaire. Knowledge and attitude was assessed by a scoring system. Statistical analysis was done by percentage and chi square test. Results: The mean age of the students was 20.64 ± 1.42 years. Most (63.5%) of the students were males and most (46.7%) of them belong to the Hindu religion. Almost all (97.4%) the students had heard the word rabies. Conclusion: Most (61.2%) of the students had average knowledge, 38.8 % had good knowledge, 48.7 % had negative attitude and 51.3 % had positive attitude about rabies.