Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria Indicator Survey ... - Measure DHS

5.6 KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE CONCERNING TUBERCULOSISAdequate knowledge and a positive attitude towards tuberculosis (TB) are critical tocontrolling the TB epidemic. Success in the control of TB is measured by the treatment completionrate. In Tanzania, the directly observed treatment-short course (DOTS) strategy requires a patient touse anti-tuberculosis medication continuously for eight months. This requires clients to have adequateinformation about the disease and an understanding of the routes of transmission. Compliance withthe treatment regimen and a successful case-tracking system require clients to believe there is a cure,and to be assured that no discrimination or stigma is attached to tuberculosis patients and theirfamilies.As shown in Tables 5.6.1 and 5.6.2, 93 percent of women and 96 percent of men age 15-49 inTanzania have heard of tuberculosis. Differences by background characteristics in the proportion whohave heard of TB are minimal.Only about half of women and 60 percent of men know the correct route of TB transmission,namely through droplets in the air when an infected person coughs. Seventy-eight percent of womenand 84 percent of men believe that tuberculosis can be cured. Stigma towards TB patients appears notto be widespread in Tanzania, with only 24 percent of women and 16 percent of men saying that theywould keep a family member‘s sickness secret.There is considerable variation in knowledge of TB between urban and rural areas for bothsexes, with urban residents more likely to know that TB is spread through the air by coughing.Although the belief that tuberculosis can be cured is higher among men than women in both Mainlandand Zanzibar, women in Rukwa, Ruvuma, and Kagera regions were less likely to believe thattuberculosis can be cured than women in other regions.There is a relationship between level of education and knowledge about route of transmission,stigma towards tuberculosis patients, and belief about cure. Respondents with secondary educationand above have favourable knowledge and attitudes towards tuberculosis control measures: they haveheard about TB, know the route of transmission, believe TB is curable, and do not favour keepingfamily members’ sickness secret. Respondents with no education have much less favourableknowledge and attitudes towards tuberculosis control measures. A similar but less pronounceddifferential is seen among households in the higher wealth quintiles compared with households in thelower wealth quintiles.62 | HIV/AIDS-Related Knowledge