Knowledge, Attitude and Practices towards Tuberculosis Disease among Health Sciences Undergraduate Students: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) has become one of the significant public health concerns with increasing mortality and morbidity rate in Malaysia. Undergraduate students of Health sciences are considered at high risk of getting TB. Lack of understanding about the source and transmission of the disease, as well as attitude and practices of the students may be a contributing factor. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards tuberculosis (TB) among Health Sciences undergraduate students studying in a public university in Penang, Malaysia. This study was conducted among undergraduate students from UiTM Penang Branch, Bertam Campus. A quantitative method was used to collect the data. Results show that the majority of the respondents were aware of TB causal agents, symptoms, mode of transmission and the curability of TB as well as the effectiveness of BCG vaccination in preventing TB. Furthermore, it was discovered that a huge number of them were having misconceived ideas regarding TB and that was shown through their attitude towards TB disease. Overall, findings indicate good knowledge but moderate level of attitude and practices on tuberculosis disease. These findings emphasize the need for educating health sciences undergraduate students on tuberculosis disease to improve the risk and their attitude and practices.