Abstract

Background: One of the infectious diseases that still become a priority in Indonesia is hepatitis A. 

Objectives: This study aimed to obtain information on a relationship between a clean and healthy life behavior that is associated with the incidence of hepatitis A among patients visiting the Health Community Center or Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat of  Wanareja I Subdistrict of Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia.

Methods: The study applied the case control with 98 samples consisting 49 people with Hepatitis A as cases and 49 healthy people as controls.  The relationship among variables is tested with the   Chi-Square test.

Results: The results of this study reveal a positive association between the behavior of clean and healthy life with the incidence of hepatitis A concerning the source of fresh water,   the habit of washing hands after defecation,  boiling drinking water, how to wash cutlery, sorting cutlery and practice of eating snacks outside.

Conclusions: Though the above factors are closely related to the incidence of hepatitis A, the respondents' attention to clean and healthy living habits are still low in the respective areas signaling that Health Community  Center or  Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat should take more proactive efforts to provide information to the community in rural areas.

Keywords: Hepatitis A, clean and healthy, living behavior, rural areas.