Knowledge about
HBV and experience with prevention and screening,
or lack thereof, can positively or negatively affect
respondents’ health beliefs and perceptions of
HBV screening. Several unscreened participants
did not understand what the HBV screening entailed,
how HBV is transmitted, and its prevalenceamong Africans. The lack of awareness regarding
the asymptomatic nature of HBV was also evident
in some unscreened individuals. When asked why
they have not been screened, an unscreened man
stated: “I’m not feeling my body. I’m not feeling
anything, I’m feeling okay.” Others were not aware
of the disease or the possibility to screen for the
disease. An unscreened man said that he had not
heard about HBV and stated: “If I know I would do
it but I don’t know.”