Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey
Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a significant infectious disease worldwide. The prevalence of TB in Pakistan remains high. A thorough assessment of the population's knowledge about the disease could aid in reducing its transmission. Our objective was to identify demographic...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pasteur Institute of Iran
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
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| Summary: | Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a significant infectious
disease worldwide. The prevalence of TB in Pakistan remains high. A
thorough assessment of the population's knowledge about the disease could
aid in reducing its transmission. Our objective was to identify demographic
and socioeconomic variables that may impact the understanding of TB
among Pakistani men (n=3691) and to analyze its influence. Methods: We
utilized secondary data from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
(DHS), collected between November 2017 and April 2018. We examined
participants' knowledge about tuberculosis (TB) through various questions
about its characteristics, transmission, curability, and duration. Other factors
such as residence, education, internet access, and media preferences were
also assessed. A knowledge index ranging from 0 to 9 was developed for
each participant in which correct responses were scored as "1," while
incorrect ones were scored as "0”. The data were analyzed using both oneway
ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: Most participants were
aged 15 to 34 (48.2%) and had completed secondary school (35.8%). 94.3%
of participants reported being aware of TB, with higher education showing
the highest level of awareness (98.7%). Greater knowledge of TB was
associated with reading newspapers or magazines once a week or less (mean
score 7.22 ± 1.14, CI: 7.15-7.29, and 7.31 ± 1.11, CI: 7.23-7.40,
respectively), watching television once a week or less (mean score 7.22 ±
1.13, CI: 7.00-7.25, and 7.15 ± 1.06, CI: 7.05-7.23, respectively), owning a
mobile phone (mean score 7.15 ± 1.1, CI: 7.08-7.19), and having a bank
account (mean score 7.33 ± 1.14, CI: 7.28-7.39) (all P<0.01). Conclusion:
There was a significant association between a higher level of TB knowledge
and higher educational status, access to print media or television, mobile
phone ownership, and having a bank account. Despite the high knowledge
among participants, several practical implications should be addressed to
combat the disease effectively. These practical implications include a high
prevalence of TB, limited access to healthcare, socioeconomic factors, and
the emergence of drug-resistant TB strains. In the context of future research
on the same topic, we suggest conducting comparative studies among
different nations to discern the variances in TB knowledge across the globe. |
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| ISSN: | 2345-5349 2345-5330 |