Abstract:
Introduction: Tuberculosis, caused by
mycobacteria, is a major health hazard in our country.
This disease can spread to any organ or system in the
body resulting in destructive lesions which are clinically
significant. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess
the awareness of symptoms, transmission and treatment
of pulmonary tuberculosis among patients and their
relatives visiting the outpatient department (OPD) at the
Colombo South Teaching Hospital. Method: A crosssectional
study conducted at the OPD of Colombo South
Teaching Hospital. The study included 384 participants
above 18 years of age. Verbal and written consent was
obtained from all participants. Data was collected using a
pre-tested questionnaire & the results were analysed by
Pearson chi-squared (SPSS 16 version) method. Results: In
our study the majority of participants were found to have
a odeate koledge of tueulosis. Koledge of
the symptoms, transmission and treatment of pulmonary
tuberculosis significantly correlated with the demographic
variables other than gender, age and profession (p <
0.05). A high percentage of participants (95.8%) knew
that pulmonary tuberculosis is curable and that
prolonged cough (93.8%) is an important symptom of the
disease. However, only 45.6% knew that HIV infection is a
risk factor for the development of tuberculosis. The
patiipats koledge of the ausatie ogais of TB
and its transmission from mother to fetus was
considerably low. A high proportion of participants
(83.1%) knew that inhalation of infectious droplets is the
most common route of transmission of TB. Awareness of
preventive measures (covering the mouth and nose while
coughing or sneezing-67.2%) and the treatment plan of
tuberculosis was at a high level. Conclusion: Except
gender, age and profession, other demographic variables
(education level and monthly income) is significantly
correlated with the level of knowledge of tuberculosis
(p<0.05).
