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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ridha Umar1*, Rashida Dhilawala1, Rehab Mohd Jamali1, Rizwan Qaisar1, 2, Dana Ahmad Saqr1, Rawan Adel Mahmood Alfaraji1
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pasteur Institute of Iran 2023-12-01
Series:Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850190834455019520
author Ridha Umar1*
Rashida Dhilawala1
Rehab Mohd Jamali1
Rizwan Qaisar1, 2
Dana Ahmad Saqr1
Rawan Adel Mahmood Alfaraji1
author_facet Ridha Umar1*
Rashida Dhilawala1
Rehab Mohd Jamali1
Rizwan Qaisar1, 2
Dana Ahmad Saqr1
Rawan Adel Mahmood Alfaraji1
author_sort Ridha Umar1*
collection DOAJ
description 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.
format Article
id doaj-art-dca659c389c04935a06daf88f2aa7a6f
institution OA Journals
issn 2345-5349
2345-5330
language English
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Pasteur Institute of Iran
record_format Article
series Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
spelling doaj-art-dca659c389c04935a06daf88f2aa7a6f2025-08-20T02:15:08ZengPasteur Institute of IranJournal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases2345-53492345-53302023-12-0111421322110.61186/JoMMID.11.4.213Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative SurveyRidha Umar1*0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7762-1126Rashida Dhilawala11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8568-0356Rehab Mohd Jamali12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0575-9492Rizwan Qaisar1, 23https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8485-7172Dana Ahmad Saqr14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6498-0173Rawan Adel Mahmood Alfaraji15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6374-28241Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates1Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates1Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates1Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates; 2Cardiovascular Research Group, Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates1Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates1Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, 27272, United Arab EmiratesIntroduction: 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.tuberculosisknowledgeattitudepakistanpakistani men
spellingShingle Ridha Umar1*
Rashida Dhilawala1
Rehab Mohd Jamali1
Rizwan Qaisar1, 2
Dana Ahmad Saqr1
Rawan Adel Mahmood Alfaraji1
Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey
Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
tuberculosis
knowledge
attitude
pakistan
pakistani men
title Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey
title_full Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey
title_fullStr Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey
title_full_unstemmed Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey
title_short Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey
title_sort factors driving the knowledge of tuberculosis in pakistani men evidence from a nationally representative survey
topic tuberculosis
knowledge
attitude
pakistan
pakistani men
work_keys_str_mv AT ridhaumar1 factorsdrivingtheknowledgeoftuberculosisinpakistanimenevidencefromanationallyrepresentativesurvey
AT rashidadhilawala1 factorsdrivingtheknowledgeoftuberculosisinpakistanimenevidencefromanationallyrepresentativesurvey
AT rehabmohdjamali1 factorsdrivingtheknowledgeoftuberculosisinpakistanimenevidencefromanationallyrepresentativesurvey
AT rizwanqaisar12 factorsdrivingtheknowledgeoftuberculosisinpakistanimenevidencefromanationallyrepresentativesurvey
AT danaahmadsaqr1 factorsdrivingtheknowledgeoftuberculosisinpakistanimenevidencefromanationallyrepresentativesurvey
AT rawanadelmahmoodalfaraji1 factorsdrivingtheknowledgeoftuberculosisinpakistanimenevidencefromanationallyrepresentativesurvey