The role of mass media exposure on tuberculosis knowledge and attitude among migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Globally, tuberculosis (TB) is the 10th leading cause of death. Despite no country achieved its target, the world health organization (WHO) proposed a 90-90-90 approach to fastening the end TB strategy. Improvement and progression of TB control need good knowledge and a favorable attitude towards the disease. However, interventions designed don't take migrants and seasonal farmworkers into account. Therefore, this study aimed at estimating the level of knowledge and attitude on Tuberculosis among migrant and seasonal farmworkers in northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the West Gondar zone from October to November 2018. A two-stage cluster sampling was used to select 949 migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. A p-value of < 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. The goodness of fit was checked using Hosmer and Lemeshow test. Results: In this study, (41.8%), (95% CI: 38.73, 45.01) and (50.5%), (95% CI: 47.29, 53.65) of migrants and seasonal farmworkers had good knowledge and a favorable attitude, respectively. The odds of good knowledge among mass media exposed migrants were AOR = 1.42, 95% CI: (1.02, 2.01). Moreover, urban residence and having good knowledge increase the odds of favorable attitude by 1.66, (AOR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.62) and 4.3 (AOR = 4.3, 95%CI: 3.26, 5.75), respectively. Conclusion: In this study, the overall knowledge and attitude of migrant and seasonal farmworkers on TB were low. Family size and mass media exposure significantly affect knowledge of the migrants on TB. On the other hand, the attitude was affected by urban residence, health information, and having good knowledge. Health promotion interventions, focused on TB cause, mode of transmission, prevention, and treatment are important to migrant and seasonal farmworkers to improve the knowledge and attitude of migrants and seasonal farmworkers.

Factors associated with TB screening among agricultural workers in Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…In this study, workers from Zimbabwe and Mozambique were less likely to have been screened for TB as compared to workers from South Africa. The reasons for this may be varied; migrant agricultural workers may have less awareness of TB, as has been the case in other studies [ 13 , 30 ]. Moreover, migrant agricultural workers are a highly mobile population who spend most of their time moving from one farming town to another, or between their country of origin and South Africa, in search of work.…”

“…Previous studies have recommended strengthening outreach and awareness campaigns for agricultural workers [ 13 , 30 , 34 ] as a means of improving access and bringing prevention services closer to farming communities. The findings of this study support the call for targeted efforts in TB awareness and education, especially for hard-to-reach populations, including agricultural workers, who are unlikely to be reached through conventional methods.…”

“…Having health services in the workplace increased the likelihood of screening for TB. Previous studies conducted in other countries have reported that migrant agricultural workers were hardly reached with health information, resulting in less knowledge about diseases [ 30 , 35 ]. Furthermore, a link between disease knowledge and screening uptake has long been established [ 36 ].…”

“…Data were summarized using descriptive statistics, frequency distribution tables, and charts. A review of literature guided the selection of covariates [ 20 , 29 , 30 ]. Unadjusted logistic regression was performed to measure the association of TB screening with individual variables.…”

Evaluating novel engagement mechanisms, yields and acceptability of tuberculosis screening at retail pharmacies in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

“…As the private healthcare sector has expanded, engagement efforts have faced challenges due to the burden of reporting to the NTP and a lack of efficient ways to engage providers at scale [10]. Mass media campaigns have been used to engage both general populations and specific audiences on TB knowledge, healthcare seeking, and stigma reduction, highlighting the potential for mobile and mass media to be a valuable tool in engaging a range of stakeholders [20][21][22].…”