Knowledge, attitude & practices towards tuberculosis: Comparison between community and Health care professionals

Background: Tuberculosis disease is one of the major global health problems. Community participation can help reduction in this disease. Aim: To compare the knowledge, attitude and practice towards tuberculosis between community and health care professionals. Methodology: The study got approved by ethical review board. This cross sectional survey was conducted from January to June 2017, for the community and health care professionals (50 participants each) of King Edward Medical University, Lahore to compare the knowledge, attitude and practice towards tuberculosis. A validated questionnaire was used. The study participants were included by nonprobability convenient sampling. The participants were explained regarding study protocol and their consent was obtained. The study participants were interviewed according to the questionnaire. Data were entered in SPSS 20 for statistical analysis. Chi square test was applied to see the differences between responses. Results: The study participants consisted of 50 doctors and 50 community members. There was statistically significant difference in knowledge between doctors and community for tuberculosis disease epidemiology, its spread, available treatment facilities and preventive measures. However, there was not statistically significant difference between the responses in attitude and practices about TB. Conclusion: Findings from this study are indicative of differences in gap in knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with tuberculosis in a resource-limited locality. There is significant gap in knowledge associated with tuberculosis between doctors and community. The community needs to be educated more for tuberculosis and its prevention.