Peningkatan Literasi Kesehatan melalui Edukasi dan Skrining Hepatitis di Way Halim Bandar Lampung

Abstract

Viral hepatitis remains a major public health concern due to limited health literacy, inadequate access to screening services, and low public awareness regarding disease prevention and early detection. This community service program aimed to improve community health literacy regarding hepatitis through community-based health education and hepatitis screening in Way Halim, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia. The program employed promotive and preventive approaches consisting of health education sessions, interactive discussions, and hepatitis screening using Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) and Anti-Hepatitis C Virus (Anti-HCV) Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs). Program effectiveness was evaluated using pre-test and post-test questionnaires, while screening results were analyzed descriptively. A total of 32 participants completed all program activities. The mean knowledge score increased from 56 before the educational intervention to 82 afterward, representing an improvement of 26 points. All participants showed non-reactive results for both HBsAg and Anti-HCV tests. In addition to improving community knowledge, the program produced educational leaflets that were provided to community partners to support sustainable health promotion activities. The "Hepatitis Aware!" program demonstrated that integrating community-based health education with hepatitis screening is effective in improving health literacy, strengthening promotive and preventive efforts, and has the potential to be replicated in other communities to support hepatitis prevention and control.