Knowledge and attitude of key community members towards tuberculosis: mixed method study from BRAC TB control areas in Bangladesh

Abstract

BackgroundBangladesh National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Programme adopted a number of strategies to facilitate TB diagnosis and treatment. ‘Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization’ (ACSM) was one of the key strategies implemented by BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, a non-governmental development organization) TB control program. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the key community members (KCMs) participated in ACSM in BRAC TB control areas.MethodsThis study combined quantitative and qualitative methods using a mixed method approach. KCMs in three districts with low TB case detection rates were targeted to assess the ACSM program. The quantitative survey using a multi-stage random-sampling strategy was conducted among 432 participants. The qualitative study included in-depth interviews (IDIs) of a sub sample of 48 respondents. For quantitative analysis, descriptive statistics were reported using frequencies, percentages, and Chi square tests, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative part.ResultsMost (99%) of the participants had heard about TB, and almost all knew that TB is a contagious yet curable disease. More than half (53%) of the KCMs had good knowledge regarding TB, but BRAC workers were found to be more knowledgeable compared to other KCMs. However, considerable knowledge gaps were observed among BRAC community health workers. Qualitative results revealed that the majority of the KCMs were aware about the signs, symptoms and transmission pathways of TB and believed that smoking and addiction were the prime causes of transmission of TB. The knowledge about child TB was poor even among BRAC health workers. Stigma associated with TB was not uncommon. Almost all respondents expressed that young girls diagnosed with TB.ConclusionsThis study finding has revealed varying levels of knowledge and mixed attitudes about TB among the KCMs. It also provides insight on the poor knowledge regarding child TB and indicate that despite the significant success of the TB program stigma is yet prevalent in the community. Future ACSM activities should engage community members against stigma and promote child TB related information for further improvement of BRAC TB Control Programme.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-1390-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Conhecimento e atitudes dos familiares de presidiários acerca da tuberculose: estudo descritivo

“…Desse modo, tal fato corrobora os resultados obtidos em estudos nacionais e internacionais realizados com trabalhadores de sistemas carcerários e de saúde, indivíduos privados de liberdade (6) , familiares de pessoas em tratamento da TB (8) e com a comunidade em geral (9,11) , os quais reforçam a necessidade da educação em saúde. Isso indica a necessidade de intervenção capaz de mudar o perfil epidemiológico de doenças, especialmente as transmissíveis.…”

“…Mesmo que o ambiente prisional contribua para o maior risco de contágio, há também a oportunidade de diagnóstico e tratamento, o que trará benefícios à saúde não só do detento, mas também dos profissionais do sistema prisional, dos familiares e da comunidade em que o detento voltará a ter convívio (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Porém, para que as ações em saúde sejam bem sucedidas, as condições de vida, as limitações estruturais dos presídios e as fragilidades dos serviços de saúde necessitam serem revistas e melhoradas (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) . Entretanto, outro estudo (2) , realizado em cinco prisões do Sistema Penitenciário de dois municípios do Pará, enfatizou que a pessoa privada de liberdade é capaz de entender a sua condição e ultrapassar as dificuldades para o alcance da cura da doença.…”

Factors determining the knowledge related to tuberculosis in a rural community, a community based cross sectional study

“…1,2 It is reported that, globally, about 9 million people developed tuberculosis and about 1.5 million people died due to tuberculosis across the globe in 2013. The estimate number of incident TB cases in India are 2.6 million during the same period.…”

“…5 Various kinds of the stigma associated with tuberculosis and poor knowledge in the community on various important aspects of the disease are responsible for this. 2,6 Many previous studies conducted in the past have documented very poor public awareness regarding tuberculosis. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Low awareness levels were documented for various important aspects of the disease including mode of transmission, prevention methods, treatment services etc.…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Low awareness levels were documented for various important aspects of the disease including mode of transmission, prevention methods, treatment services etc. 2,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Considering the highly heterogeneous nature of population subgroups in countries like India, the knowledge levels about tuberculosis can vary widely across different geographic regions and population subgroups. 4,16,17 Hence uniform strategies formulated at national or regional level may not have desired impact.…”