Abstract:
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease which is transmitted through the air. This disease
damages the lungs and other organs in the human body. TB is highly contagious and spreads
when TB patients cough, sneeze, spit and talk. Due to the ease of infection, anyone can contract
the disease. Unfortunately, not many people are aware about TB. This lack of knowledge and
awareness is a problem anywhere around the globe. Therefore, the study attempts to examine the
awareness regarding this disease. The main objective of this study is to review the level of
knowledge and awareness on TB among undergraduate students of private universities in Dhaka.
A cross sectional survey was conducted on 300 undergraduate students of 6 private universities
in Dhaka. Data was collected from universities of Dhaka from June 2016 to September 2016
using a standard 4 pages questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel
(version 2007). Among 300 students, male and female were 35.66% and 64.33% respectively.
Majority of the students 96.33% had heard about TB. About 53.67% students responded to TB as
a communicable disease, 85% students agreed that bacteria can cause TB, 55% students believed
that TB is curable. About (60.66%) students were aware of the sign & symptoms of TB but
remaining (39.33%) of had no idea about sign & symptoms of TB , (55%) of respondents had no
knowledge about spread of TB and remaining (44.33%) respondents had knowledge about
spread of TB. However students had poor knowledge about latent TB (65%), BCG vaccine
(63.33%) and DOTs program (78.33%).About (61.33%) of students had idea about the way of
TB curability, and 85.33% had idea about the place from where one can take treatment of TB.
Most of the students (80%) had knowledge about precaution that should be taken by TB patients.
Although our data showed insufficient general knowledge on tuberculosis among undergraduate
students of private universities in Dhaka, this survey underlines the considerable need for
improvement in knowledge about the disease, especially among students. In light of the scientific
recommendations concerning knowledge about tuberculosis among students, progress of current health care curriculum must be aimed to develop students’ skills in this field.
Description:
This thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Pharmacy (M.Pharm) in East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.