Awareness about common diseases in selected female college students of Karachi.

OBJECTIVE To determine the level of awareness about five common diseases, namely: Tuberculosis (TB), Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS among college female students of Karachi. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of female students aged 16-21 years from three colleges selected by convenient sampling method was conducted from January to May 2004. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS A large number of students (71%) knew that typhoid spreads by eating contaminated food and drinking infected water. Majority (84%) knew about cough as a mode of spread for TB whereas 69% thought that TB could spread through sneeze of a TB patient. Regarding AIDS, 90% knew that it is sexually transmitted. Majority (87%) knew about the association of hepatitis B and contaminated needles; 64% were aware of hepatitis C and abuse of contaminated needles; 88% knew about the spread of HIV by the use of contaminated needles. A large number (92%) mentioned television as their main source of information. CONCLUSION The general level of awareness regarding HIV/AIDS transmission was satisfactory among college girls in this study. The level of awareness of the young educated females about the modes of spread of typhoid, TB, hepatitis B and C is low. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of health education campaign regarding common infectious diseases, especially in young girls.