Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan
Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in South Sudan. Inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes and perceived stigma may complicate the prevention efforts. This study describes knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with TB among communities in Wau and Jur River,...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Tropical Medicine and Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-025-00696-7 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823861587865239552 |
|---|---|
| author | Peter Michael Marin Morten Tryland Musso Munyeme Ambrose Samuel Jubara Enock Matovu Peter Waiswa Javier Sanchez Romano Francis Mutebi David Onafruo Estella Kitale Esther Sabbath Kayla J. Buhler Clovice Kankya |
| author_facet | Peter Michael Marin Morten Tryland Musso Munyeme Ambrose Samuel Jubara Enock Matovu Peter Waiswa Javier Sanchez Romano Francis Mutebi David Onafruo Estella Kitale Esther Sabbath Kayla J. Buhler Clovice Kankya |
| author_sort | Peter Michael Marin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in South Sudan. Inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes and perceived stigma may complicate the prevention efforts. This study describes knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with TB among communities in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan. Methods From March to May 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 352 community members randomly selected from residential blocks. A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results Out of 352 respondents, 51% (n = 180) were males and 49% (n = 172) were females. Majority 227 (64.5%) had poor knowledge about TB, meanwhile hearing about TB, age and level of education were associated factors. Fear of having TB was the major negative attitude (57.1%; n = 218), and most of the respondents (n = 327; 92.9%) had a perceived stigma towards TB, voicing that they disliked drinking or eating with people with TB and/or felt uncomfortable and kept their distance from people with TB. Conclusions Communities have little knowledge, negative attitude and perceived stigma towards people with TB. Hence, tailored health messages using local languages, training of community volunteers to reach villages without accessibility and communication network are essential to improve TB prevention and control in South Sudan. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b9ace901507549528e201c927a270806 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1349-4147 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tropical Medicine and Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-b9ace901507549528e201c927a2708062025-02-09T12:54:56ZengBMCTropical Medicine and Health1349-41472025-02-015311810.1186/s41182-025-00696-7Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South SudanPeter Michael Marin0Morten Tryland1Musso Munyeme2Ambrose Samuel Jubara3Enock Matovu4Peter Waiswa5Javier Sanchez Romano6Francis Mutebi7David Onafruo8Estella Kitale9Esther Sabbath10Kayla J. Buhler11Clovice Kankya12Department of Public Health, University of Bahr El Ghazal (UBG)Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN)Department of Disease Control, University of ZambiaDepartment of Clinical Studies, University of Bahr El Ghazal (UBG)Department of Pharmacy, Clinical and Comparative Medicine, Makerere UniversityDepartment of Biosecurity, Ecosystem and Veterinary Public Health, Makerere UniversityDepartment of Medical Biology, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)Department of Bimolecular Resources and Biolab Sciences, Makerere UniversityDepartment of Biosecurity, Ecosystem and Veterinary Public Health, Makerere UniversityDepartment of Biosecurity, Ecosystem and Veterinary Public Health, Makerere UniversityDepartment of Biosecurity, Ecosystem and Veterinary Public Health, Makerere UniversityDepartment of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN)Department of Biosecurity, Ecosystem and Veterinary Public Health, Makerere UniversityAbstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in South Sudan. Inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes and perceived stigma may complicate the prevention efforts. This study describes knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with TB among communities in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan. Methods From March to May 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 352 community members randomly selected from residential blocks. A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results Out of 352 respondents, 51% (n = 180) were males and 49% (n = 172) were females. Majority 227 (64.5%) had poor knowledge about TB, meanwhile hearing about TB, age and level of education were associated factors. Fear of having TB was the major negative attitude (57.1%; n = 218), and most of the respondents (n = 327; 92.9%) had a perceived stigma towards TB, voicing that they disliked drinking or eating with people with TB and/or felt uncomfortable and kept their distance from people with TB. Conclusions Communities have little knowledge, negative attitude and perceived stigma towards people with TB. Hence, tailored health messages using local languages, training of community volunteers to reach villages without accessibility and communication network are essential to improve TB prevention and control in South Sudan.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-025-00696-7Mycobacterium tuberculosisAwarenessDriving factorsBahr El Ghazal Region |
| spellingShingle | Peter Michael Marin Morten Tryland Musso Munyeme Ambrose Samuel Jubara Enock Matovu Peter Waiswa Javier Sanchez Romano Francis Mutebi David Onafruo Estella Kitale Esther Sabbath Kayla J. Buhler Clovice Kankya Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan Tropical Medicine and Health Mycobacterium tuberculosis Awareness Driving factors Bahr El Ghazal Region |
| title | Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan |
| title_full | Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan |
| title_fullStr | Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan |
| title_short | Elucidating the knowledge, attitude, and stigma associated with tuberculosis: a community based descriptive study in Wau and Jur River, South Sudan |
| title_sort | elucidating the knowledge attitude and stigma associated with tuberculosis a community based descriptive study in wau and jur river south sudan |
| topic | Mycobacterium tuberculosis Awareness Driving factors Bahr El Ghazal Region |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-025-00696-7 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT petermichaelmarin elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT mortentryland elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT mussomunyeme elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT ambrosesamueljubara elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT enockmatovu elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT peterwaiswa elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT javiersanchezromano elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT francismutebi elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT davidonafruo elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT estellakitale elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT esthersabbath elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT kaylajbuhler elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan AT clovicekankya elucidatingtheknowledgeattitudeandstigmaassociatedwithtuberculosisacommunitybaseddescriptivestudyinwauandjurriversouthsudan |