AUTHOR=Zhang Yuping , Wu Jingwen , Hui Xiaoyan , Zhang Peipei , Xue Fang 

TITLE=Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward tuberculosis prevention and management among household contacts in Suzhou Hospital, Jiangsu province, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1249971

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1249971

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: China is among the 10 high-burden tuberculosis (TB) countries in the world, thus investigation and management of household contacts is the essential part of TB prevention strategy.
Objective: To explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards TB prevention and management among household contacts of TB patients.
Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled household contacts in Suzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine between September 2022 and January 2023; KAP and demographic characteristics were assessed with the self designed questionnaire and analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. 
Results: A total of 503 participants were included, of them 280 (55.78%) female, 303 (60.36%) aged ≥ 45 years. The KAP scores were 6.24 ± 2.20 (possible range: 0-12), 18.69 ± 2.80 (possible range: 0-36), and 20.37 ± 5.15 (possible range: 0-36), respectively. Suburban (OR = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.04-0.79, P = 0.023) and rural (OR = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.03-0.57, P = 0.008) were independently associated with knowledge. Positive attitude (OR = 7.03, 95%CI: 2.92-16.96, P < 0.001), education (high school or technical secondary school, OR = 4.91, 95%CI: 1.63-14.73, P = 0.005; college and above, OR = 14.94, 95%CI: 3.51-63.58, P < 0.001), and shorter disease duration (3-6 months, OR = 0.40, 95%CI: 0.18-0.90, P = 0.026) were independently associated with better practice scores.
Conclusion: Household contacts of TB patients demonstrated insufficient knowledge, unfavorable attitude and suboptimal practice towards TB prevention and management. Tailored interventions are needed and ensure the information accessibility, especially for individuals living in suburban and rural areas.