tailieunhanh - RKesneaorcwh arlteiclde ge and perception of pulmonary tuberculosis in pastoral communities in the middle and Lower Awash Valley of Afar region, Ethiopia

Afar pastoralists live in the northeast of Ethiopia, confined to the most arid part of the country, where there is least access to educational, health and other social services. Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major public health problems in Afar region. Lack of knowledge about TB could affect the health-seeking behaviour of patients and sustain the transmission of the disease within the community. In this study, we assessed the knowledge and perception of apparently healthy individuals about pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in pastoral communities of Afar. Methods: Between March and May 2009, a community-based cross-sectional questionnaire survey involving 818 randomly selected healthy individuals was conducted in. | Legesse et al. BMC Public Health 2010 10 187 http 1471-2458 10 187 BMC Public Health RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Knowledge and perception of pulmonary tuberculosis in pastoral communities in the middle and Lower Awash Valley of Afar region Ethiopia Mengistu Legesse 1 3 Gobena Ameni1 Gezahegne Mamo2 3 Girmay Medhin1 Dawit Shawel4 Gunnar Bjune3 and Fekadu Abebe Abstract Background Afar pastoralists live in the northeast of Ethiopia confined to the most arid part of the country where there is least access to educational health and other social services. Tuberculosis TB is one of the major public health problems in Afar region. Lack of knowledge about TB could affect the health-seeking behaviour of patients and sustain the transmission of the disease within the community. In this study we assessed the knowledge and perception of apparently healthy individuals about pulmonary tuberculosis PTB in pastoral communities of Afar. Methods Between March and May 2009 a community-based cross-sectional questionnaire survey involving 818 randomly selected healthy individuals was conducted in pastoral communities of Afar region. Moreover two focus group discussions FGDs one with men and one with women were conducted in each of the study area to supplement the quantitative study. Results The majority of the interviewees reported that they have heard about PTB known locally as Labadore . However the participants associated the cause of PTB with exposure to cold air starvation 38 dust or smoking chewing Khat Cathaedulis . The discussants also suggested these same factors as the cause of PTB. All the discussants and the majority of the interviewees reported that persistent cough as the main symptom of PTB. About of the interviewees and all the discussants suggested that PTB is treatable with modern drugs. All the discussants and the majority 95 of the interviewees mentioned that the disease can be transmitted from a patient to .