Research Article Pastoralist Community’s Perception of Tuberculosis: A Quantitative Study from Shinille Area of Ethiopia

Copyright © 2013 Samuel Melaku et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. In Ethiopia the prevalence of all forms of TB is estimated at 261/100 000 population, leading to an annual mortality rate of 64/100 000 population. The incidence rate of smear-positive TB is 108/100 000 population. Objectives. To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding TB among pastoralists in Shinille district, Somali region, Ethiopia.Method. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 821 pastoralists aged>18 years and above from February to May, 2011 using self-structured questionnaire. Results. Most (92.8%) of the study participants heard about TB, but only 10.1 % knew about its causative agent. Weight loss as main symptom, transmittance through respiratory air droplets, and sputum examination for diagnosis were the answers of 34.3%, 29.9%, and 37.9 % of pastoralists, respectively. The majority (98.3%) of respondents reported that TB could be cured, of which 93.3 % believed with modern drugs. About 41.3 % of participants mentioned covering the nose and mouth during sneezing and coughing as a preventive measure. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that household income>300 Ethiopian Birr and Somali ethnicity were associated with high TB knowledge. Regarding health seeking behaviour practice only 48.0 % of the respondents preferred to visit government hospital and discuss their problems with doctors/health car