Tuberculosis Knowledge, Attitude and Preventive Practices among Patients Visiting Selam Public Health Center: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the major public health problem and killed over 49,000 people in 2016 alone and continues to be the major challenge of the country. This study aimed to assess tb knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of patients who visited Selam Health Center (SHC), Gullele sub-city in the north of Addis Ababa. A cross-sectional study was conducted from the beginning of February to the end of March 2019. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect patients’ kap data. Quantile regression model was used to analyze the association between dependent and independent variables. A total of 384 shc patients were enrolled. All respondents had heard about tb, 65.9% described tb as a very serious disease and 61.2% mentioned bacteria as causative agent. Almost 60% don’t know the mode of transmission of tb and 56.2% identified the major symptoms of tb. Majority (72.9%) of them had an unacceptable attitude towards tb patients. Nearly 80% sought treatment after two weeks of symptoms, 52.9% preferred health centers, while 47.1% refused to go to health centers because of costs, lack of trust on health workers, transportation problems and fear of job loss. Quantile regression analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant correlation between knowledge and attitude (r_s = 0.01, p = 0.007) and attitude and practice (r_s = 0.14, p = 0.021). The present findings revealed that patients’ knowledge on cause and symptoms of tb was fairly high but most failed to know the route of transmission and perceived a negative attitude towards tb patients. Health centers and other stakeholders should provide health education and health extension services for the community to reduce the spread of tb and its consequences.