A Descriptive Study on Knowledge and Practices Regarding Management of Tuberculosis among Patients and Their Caregivers at Selected Dots Centers in Punjab.

Abstract

: Tuberculosis, or TB, is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is transmitted from person to person. In healthy people, infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis often causes no symptoms, since the person's immune system acts to “wall off” the bacteria. The symptoms of active TB of the lung are coughing, sometimes with sputum or blood, chest pain, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats¹. A quantitative approach will be used to describe the knowledge and practices regarding management of tuberculosis among patients and their caregivers. The main objective of the study is to assess the knowledge and practices regarding management of tuberculosis among patient and their caregivers and to determine the association of demographic variables with knowledge and practices regarding management of tuberculosis among patients and their caregivers  reporting at selected DOT’s centers in Punjab. A sample of 200 tuberculosis patients and their caregivers from selected DOT’s centers in Punjab. Structured interview schedule and self-report practice checklist   was used to determine knowledge and practices regarding management of tuberculosis. On analysis of data, researcher revealed that there was significant association between knowledge and practices of the tuberculosis patients but there was no significant association between knowledge and practices of caregivers regarding management of tuberculosis. The findings also revealed that there was significant association between knowledge and demographic variables of patients but there was no association between knowledge and socio-demographic variables of caregivers. Based on the experience of the study the subjects had good knowledge regarding management of tuberculosis but they don’t apply the knowledge in their practices for management of tuberculosis.