Impact of health education on the knowledge of tuberculosis among sputum-positive pulmonary TB patients and their care-givers.

Tuberculosis is a world-wide disease, the chest affliction (pulmonary tuberculosis) being the commonest. Over 14 million persons are estimated to presently suffer from acute tuberculosis. Poverty apart, ignorance about origin, spread and prevention is a major factor in the large scale prevalence of the disease. It was therefore decided to assess the impact of health education among sputum-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their caregivers on all aspects and also to evaluate their knowledge on day of allocation of treatment. Using a structured questionnaire with multiple choices regarding signs & symptoms, causes, transmission of tuberculosis, availability of treatment etc. on 56 patients and 62 care-givers. The study concludes that direct and indirect methods of health education significantly enhance the awareness about the nature, spread and prevention of tuberculosis.