Article
| PLoS ONE
|
2018
Knowledge about Tuberculosis and Infection Prevention Behavior: A Nine City Longitudinal Study from India
Sophie Huddart, Thomas Bossuroy, Vincent Pons, Siddhartha Baral, Madhukar Pai and Clara Delavallade
Background
Improving patients’ tuberculosis (TB) knowledge is a salient component of TB control strategies. Patient knowledge of TB may encourage infection prevention behaviors and improve treatment adherence. The purpose of this study is to examine how TB knowledge and infection prevention behaviors change over the course of treatment.
Methods
A matched patient-health worker dataset (n = 6,031) of publicly treated TB patients with
NGO-provided treatment support health workers was compiled in nine Indian cities from
March 2013 to September 2014. At the beginning and end of TB treatment, patients were
asked about their knowledge of TB symptoms, transmission, and treatment and infection
prevention behaviors.
Results
Patients beginning TB treatment (n = 3,424) demonstrated moderate knowledge of TB;
52.5% (50.8%, 54.2%) knew that cough was a symptom of TB and 67.2% (65.6%, 68.7%)
knew that TB was communicable. Overall patient knowledge was significantly associated
with literacy, education, and income, and was higher at the end of treatment than at the
beginning (3.7%, CI: 3.02%, 4.47%). Infection prevention behaviors like covering a cough
(63.4%, CI: 61.2%, 65.0%) and sleeping separately (19.3%, CI: 18.0%, 20.7%) were less
prevalent. The age difference between patient and health worker as well as a shared language significantly predicted patient knowledge and adherence to infection prevention
behaviors.
Conclusions
Social proximity between health worker and patients predicted greater knowledge and
adherence to infection prevention behaviors but the latter rate remains undesirably low.
Keywords: Health Disorders;
Knowledge Dissemination;
Behavior;
India;