Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences and Pathology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2010 Oct 11;5(10):e13339. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013339.
Perceived stigma and lack of awareness could contribute to the late presentation and low detection rate of tuberculosis (TB). We conducted a study in rural southwest Ethiopia among TB suspects to assess knowledge about and stigma towards TB and their health seeking behavior.
A community based cross sectional survey was conducted from February to March 2009 in the Gilgel Gibe field research area. Any person 15 years and above with cough for at least 2 weeks was considered a TB suspect and included in the study. Data were collected by trained personnel using a pretested structured questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was done using SPSS 15.0 statistical software.
Of the 476 pulmonary TB suspects, 395 (83.0%) had ever heard of TB; "evil eye" (50.4%) was the commonly mentioned cause of TB. Individuals who could read and write were more likely to be aware about TB [(crude OR = 2.98, (95%CI: 1.25, 7.08)] and more likely to know that TB is caused by a microorganism [(adjusted OR = 3.16, (95%CI: 1.77, 5.65)] than non-educated individuals. Males were more likely to know the cause of TB [(adjusted OR = 1.92, (95%CI: 1.22, 3.03)] than females. 51.3% of TB suspects perceived that other people would consider them inferior if they had TB. High stigma towards TB was reported by 199(51.2%). 220 (46.2%) did not seek help for their illness. Individuals who had previous anti-TB treatment were more likely to have appropriate health seeking behavior [(adjusted OR = 3.65, (95%CI: 1.89, 7.06)] than those who had not.
There was little knowledge about TB in the Gilgel Gibe field research area. We observed inappropriate health seeking behavior and stigma towards TB. TB control programs in Ethiopia should educate rural communities, particularly females and non-educated individuals, about the cause and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of TB.
感知到的耻辱感和缺乏认识可能导致结核病（TB）的晚期出现和低检出率。我们在埃塞俄比亚西南部农村地区对结核病疑似患者进行了一项研究，以评估他们对结核病的认识和耻辱感以及他们的就医行为。
2009 年 2 月至 3 月，在吉尔吉尔吉比实地研究区进行了一项基于社区的横断面调查。任何咳嗽持续至少 2 周的 15 岁及以上的人都被视为结核病疑似患者并纳入研究。数据由经过培训的人员使用预先测试的结构化问卷收集。使用 SPSS 15.0 统计软件进行逻辑回归分析。
在 476 例肺结核疑似患者中，395 例（83.0%）曾听说过结核病；“邪眼”（50.4%）是常见的结核病病因。能够读写的人更有可能了解结核病[（粗比值比[OR] = 2.98，（95%置信区间[CI]：1.25，7.08）]，并且更有可能知道结核病是由微生物引起的[（调整后的 OR = 3.16，（95%CI：1.77，5.65）]比非教育者。男性比女性更有可能知道结核病的病因[（调整后的 OR = 1.92，（95%CI：1.22，3.03）]。51.3%的结核病疑似患者认为如果他们患有结核病，其他人会认为他们低人一等。有 199 人（51.2%）对结核病有高度的耻辱感。220 人（46.2%）没有为自己的疾病寻求帮助。有过抗结核病治疗的人比没有治疗过的人更有可能采取适当的就医行为[（调整后的 OR = 3.65，（95%CI：1.89，7.06）]。
吉尔吉尔比实地研究区对结核病的了解甚少。我们观察到对结核病的就医行为不当和耻辱感。埃塞俄比亚的结核病控制项目应教育农村社区，特别是女性和非教育者，了解结核病的病因以及早期诊断和治疗的重要性。
