In our country, every year, there are more than 2 million incident TB cases, which is more than one-fifth of the global burden. [2] TB poses as a main causative factor of mortality, causing death in two people for every 3 min in our country. In 2011, globally, 1.4 million people died of TB of which nearly 1 million were HIV-negative individuals and 43,000 were HIV-positive cases. In 2011, it was found that TB was mainly responsible for causing deaths in 300,000 HIV-negative women and 200,000 HIV-positive women. [3] In order to combat TB, the National Tuberculosis Program of India was started in 1962, which was renamed to Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP). The goal of this program is to decrease the mortality and morbidity owing to TB and reduce the transmission of infection until it ceases to be a major public health problem. [4] The program uses DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Shortcourse) to achieve this goal. For the program to be a success, Background: Tuberculosis is a major public health problem globally, and India has the largest number of TB patients throughout the world. Correct knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding tuberculosis in the community are essential for the effective functioning of control programs. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding tuberculosis among the rural population in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, as tuberculosis is more prevalent in rural areas. Materials and Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was carried out in Chunampet, a rural area in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu in February 2013. All adult population (2013) aged older than 18 years who were permanent residents of the study area were included in the study. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire was used as a study tool. Data collection was done by house-to-house survey. Data analysis was done by using SPSS software, version 16.0. Informed oral consent was obtained from all the participants. Result: Knowledge regarding the cause and mode of transmission of TB was inadequate. Attitude regarding the diagnosis and treatment of TB was good. Practice regarding BCG vaccination was poor in the study population. Conclusion: Intervention measures in the form of IEC activities should be carried out in rural areas to increase the awareness regarding tuberculosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.