Knowledge, attitude, practices, and determinants of them toward tuberculosis among social media users in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that causes thousands of deaths in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the 30 high TB burden countries. In this study, we aimed to assess the knowledge, practices, and attitude toward TB, and to determine the factors associated with them among people who have internet access in Bangladesh. Design, Setting, and Participant: A web-based anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 20 to August 10, 2021, among people (age> = 18 years) who have internet access in Bangladesh. A comprehensive consent statement was included at the beginning of the survey and informed consent was taken. Outcome measures This study’s outcomes of interest were respondents’ adequate knowledge, good practices, and positive attitudes toward TB and were coded binarily. The association between respondents’ socio-demographic factors and knowledge, attitude, and practices toward TB was inspected using the Chi-square test and Multivariable logistic regression model. Results Among 1,180 respondents, 58.64% were males, and 62.37% were married. The majority of the participants (78.28%) were aged between 18 to 44 years. Overall adequate knowledge, favorable attitudes, and good practices about TB were found respectively in 47.8%, 44.75%, and 31.19% of the people with internet access in Bangladesh. Almost the same sets of associated factors were found to influence adequate knowledge, favorable attitudes, and good practices toward TB among social media users in Bangladesh. Males, young, unmarried, social media users with higher education, and urban social media users were more likely to have adequate knowledge, favorable attitudes, and good practices toward TB. Conclusion Policymakers need to design programs and interventions to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward TB in Bangladesh with a particular focus on females, young and older people, people who live in rural areas, and illiterate/less educated people. Social media can be a powerful medium for disseminating scientific facts on TB and other diseases.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice towards Tuberculosis among Taif University Students

“…Second, about 44.3% of our participants knew that a bacterium causes TB, which is a low percentage when compared with a study among social media users in Bangladesh [25]. The latter study found that 71% of the participants knew that germs or bacteria are the primary cause of TB.…”

“…The potential explanation is that married people are responsible for their children, which makes them fearful of infectious disease and willing to be aware of anything harmful to their kids, especially regarding their health. In contrast, a recent study conducted in Bangladesh [25] found that married people showed poor practices towards TB. The difference could be attributed to the differences in the characteristics of the specific populations.…”

Association of Sociodemographic Factors in Affecting the Knowledge, Attitude, and Behaviour of Tuberculosis and HIV in Malang: A Community-Based Study in Rural Area

“…(15,16) The low levels of positive attitudes towards TB may be attributed to a lack of accurate knowledge about tuberculosis. (13) In this study, behavior toward tuberculosis is related to older age. The elderly are tend to overlook TB symptoms because of existing health conditions, like a persistent cough caused by smoking-related chronic lung disease, misunderstandings about the risk of TB, and concerns about facing discrimination.…”

“…Despite the technological advances, older social media users who live in rural areas had a lower chance of having sufficient understanding of tuberculosis. (13) Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious bacterial disease that continues to be a public health issue, especially in developing countries. Understanding how an infection spreads through contact is essential for its control.…”

Improvement of Patients’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Tuberculosis Treatment Using Video and Leaflet

“…This finding was consistent with previous studies that TB was more prevalent among men. [37][38][39] This could be attributed to the frequency of their smoking behavior, which increased susceptibility to infection, as damaged lungs caused a decrease in immune function. Furthermore, other studies reported that the immunosuppressive effect caused by alcohol consumption was a risk factor for TB among men.…”