The effect of an educational intervention on awareness of various aspects of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with the disease

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health problem worldwide. Raising awareness of various aspects of the disease among patients who have TB is important to help in control and prevention. Aims: This was a quasi-experimental study, pre- and post-test, designed to evaluate the effect of an educational interven­tion on awareness among patients with pulmonary TB. Methods: A structured questionnaire covering various facts about pulmonary TB was used in the pre-intervention phase for 150 TB patients who were being followed-up in a major hospital in Sudan (r = 0.80). The same questionnaire was reused after the patients underwent an educational awareness programme. Results: There were more males (74%) than females. Mean age was 36.5 years. Most patients (86.6%) had some education, however, their knowledge about aspects of TB was generally poor prior to the intervention. This included the nature of the causative organism, modes of transmission and measures needed for the control and prevention. Post-intervention, there was significant improvement in all aspects of knowledge tested (P < 0.007). Conclusion: Although the diagnosis of TB in the participants was confirmed and they were on regular clinical follow-up, their knowledge about various aspects of TB was poor prior to the educational intervention. There is a need for more ef­fort towards raising awareness among patients with TB about their disease while on treatment. This is important to help control and prevent the disease.