A Cross Sectional Assessment of Tuberculosis (TB) Related Knowledge and Awareness among Urban Slum Dwellers in Wardha District

Introduction: Risk factors for spread of Tuberculosis such as overcrowding and unhygienic environment,poverty and social taboos are more prevalent in urban slums. Hence, to assess awareness about TB in slum community becomes important in program planning as awareness plays vital role for Tuberculosis prevention and control.

Objectives: To study the knowledge and awareness about Tuberculosis among urban slum dwellers.

Methodology: This community based cross-sectional study was conducted in four urban slums of Wardha district, Maharashtra during three months (January-March 2019). We visited house to house in the slum areas; and dwellers available at home and willing to share their knowledge on TB were involved. Total 169 people were interviewed with the help of pre-structured questionnaire which includes awareness about symptoms, mode of spread, prevention, and treatment of TB.

Result: Among 169 dwellers, 111(65.68%) were male and 58(34.32%) were female. About 20(11.83%) respondents never heard about TB. Those 149(88.17%) who heard about TB; for 87(51.48%) dwellers, commonest source of information was friends and family, followed by mass media. Most of them, 132(78.11%) knew that TB spreads through air inhalation of droplet. Cough is a main symptom of TB was informed by 128(75.74%) respondent whereas 56(33.14%) replied for fever >2 weeks. Notably, 150(88.76%) participants indicated that government PHC/CHC/District Hospital is the place for management, whereas 37(21.89%) responded towards private practitioners. Awareness level was significantly high among male than female and among literate than illiterate.

Conclusion: Slum dwellers are vulnerable to get infected with TB or converted to disease status. Although awareness level for TB was found to be relatively satisfactory among the most of the slum dwellers, it was not absolute. There is scope to increase knowledge by conducting awareness activities or augmenting community visits by health workers in slum areas. This will increase the knowledge of habitat female group and illiterate which was observed to be significantly less satisfactory.