• quality of life
• hepatitis b virus
• carrier
• china

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a serious public health problem in China. The quality of life (QOL) of the HBV carriers could be affected not only by the ailment and treatment, but also by social discrimination. The purpose of the this study was to assess the QOL of HBV carriers and to investigate the possible factors affecting the QOL of HBV carriers among the professional training school students and the college students in Guangdong Province, China. The evaluation data was obtained from a self-reported survey conducted in three schools in Guangdong Province in June and July 2007. The WHOQOL-BREF scores, demographic information, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes associated with HBV were collected.

A combination of descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Crosstabs were run on survey data. The results revealed that the HBV carrier group scored lower in Psychological health and Overall QOL than the comparison group. The HBV carriers also had significantly lower scores on the Psychological health and Physical health than the general population and a large population of college students in Guangdong. In addition to HBV infection status, the decreased QOL of the HBV carriers was also associated with various demographic characteristics. The majority of the student sample demonstrated poor knowledge about the HBV prevalence and transmission, and did not feel safe around the people with HBV. Half of the HBV carriers agreed that their future would be affected by HBV. For future research, recommendations include a validated questionnaire of knowledge, attitude, and behavior to be used, a larger sample size to be recruited, collaboration with the authorities, and the development of intervention to improve the QOL of the HBV carriers. The results of this study can be used by the Guangdong Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to develop relevant interventions.