Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Toward Tuberculosis Among Health Faculty and Non-Health Faculty Students of Kabul University and Kabul University of Medical Sciences, Kabul, Afghanistan

Abstract

Introduction

Afghanistan ranks 24th among the countries with a high TB death rate. The number of TB patients has unfortunately increased by 3% during 2022 compared to 2021. University students are among the high-risk groups for TB. The frequent and high level of person-to-person contact in universities increases the transmission of infectious diseases including TB. This study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices of university students regarding tuberculosis to better understand the situation.

Methods

A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 415 health and non-health faculty students between October and December 2022. Multi-stage stratified sampling technique was used to collect the data and data were analyzed using SPSSv25. Cross-tabulation and a Chi-Square test were used to identify differences between groups.

Results

The results of this study showed that 18.1% of health and 2.4% of non-health faculty students had good knowledge about TB. There was a significant difference in the knowledge of health and non-health faculty students (P value<0.01). The level of good attitude of health and non-health faculty students about TB was 26.7% and 14.9%, respectively. Regarding practices, 41.9% of health faculty students and 29.8% of non-health faculty students had good practices about TB. There was a significant difference in the attitude (P value = 0.03) and practices (P value = 0.024) of health and non-health faculty students (health faculty students had better knowledge, attitude, and practices.).

Conclusion

The knowledge, attitude, and practices of health and non-health faculty students were insufficient about TB. The practice level of health faculty students was poorer than what was expected based on their field. Television and the Internet played a good role in informing students about TB. So, both can be used for transferring good knowledge, positive attitudes, and correct practices about TB to society.