Department of Population Science and Human Resource Development, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, 6205, Bangladesh.
Faridpur TB and Leprosy Control Project, Damien Foundation, Faridpur, Bangladesh.
BMC Infect Dis. 2019 Oct 11;19(1):837. doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-4531-0.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in developing countries like Bangladesh. Female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients are active sources for spreading TB. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of TB among FSWs in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh.
It was a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 225 FSWs. The knowledge on TB was measured by six different questions. Chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression model were used in this study to find the associated factors of lack of general knowledge on TB among FSWs.
Out of 225 FSWs, 43.1, 34.7 and 22.2% came from urban, rural and slum areas respectively. More than 41% FSWs perceived that TB is a non-communicable disease. A large number of FSWs (76.4%) did not know the spread of TB. It was found that more than 90% FSWs did not have knowledge on latent TB. The χ-test demonstrated that FSWs' education, monthly family income, age, currently marital status and sex trading place were significantly associated with their knowledge on TB. A remarkable number of FWSs (42.2%) had poor knowledge on TB. It was found that comparatively higher educated FWSs were more likely to have good or fair knowledge on TB than lower educated ones (p < 0.01).
This study revealed that near to half of FSWs in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh had poor knowledge on TB. Public health authorities should pay due attention and adopt policy for increasing the knowledge on TB among FSWs to reduce the incidence of TB in Bangladesh. Subsequently, advocacy, communication for social mobilization program is very urgent.
结核病（TB）是孟加拉国等发展中国家的一个主要公共卫生问题。性工作者（FSWs）及其客户是传播结核病的主要来源。本研究旨在评估孟加拉国拉杰沙希市性工作者对结核病的认识。
这是一项横断面研究，样本量为 225 名性工作者。采用 6 个不同的问题来衡量对结核病的认识。本研究采用卡方检验和多项逻辑回归模型，以发现性工作者对结核病缺乏一般认识的相关因素。
在 225 名性工作者中，分别有 43.1%、34.7%和 22.2%来自城市、农村和贫民窟地区。超过 41%的性工作者认为结核病是非传染性疾病。大量性工作者（76.4%）不知道结核病的传播方式。研究发现，超过 90%的性工作者不知道潜伏性结核病。卡方检验表明，性工作者的教育程度、家庭月收入、年龄、目前婚姻状况和性交易地点与他们对结核病的认识显著相关。相当数量的性工作者（42.2%）对结核病的认识较差。研究发现，受过较高教育的性工作者比受教育程度较低的性工作者更有可能对结核病有较好或较好的认识（p<0.01）。
本研究表明，孟加拉国拉杰沙希市近一半的性工作者对结核病的认识较差。公共卫生当局应予以关注，并采取政策，提高性工作者对结核病的认识，以减少孟加拉国结核病的发病率。随后，倡导和社会动员计划的宣传、沟通是非常紧迫的。
