A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Pulmonary Tuberculosis and DOTs Therapy among Tuberculosis Patients Attending Tuberculosis O.P.D at Selected Hospitals in Bhiwani, Haryana

Abstract

Background of the Study: Tuberculosis is a global public health issue despite the discovery of the causal bacterium over 100 years ago and availability of effective medications and vaccines for prevention and cure. Tuberculosis has a global incidence rate of 119 per lakh, with low-income nations bearing the major burden at 197 per lakh. High-income countries have nine per lakh people, while middle-income countries have 85. Eight out of ten tuberculosis patients are economically productive aged 15-49. It kills more adults than any other infectious disease. India has roughly one-third of the global tuberculosis load. Aim of the Study: The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a planned education program on students' understanding of pulmonary tuberculosis and the DOTS treatment method. Methodology: This study examined how a comprehensive teaching program improved patients' understanding of pulmonary tuberculosis and DOTS therapy in the outpatient department (OPD) of selected hospitals in Bhiwani, Haryana. To attain the purpose, the researcher used pre-experimental study design. The study included 60 patients at the Directly Observed Therapy Short-course (DOTS) clinic in Bhiwani, Haryana. The researchers selected samples using convenience sampling. A structured knowledge questionnaire was used to collect data in this study. A group of tuberculosis patients provided data for ten days. The pre-test was given on May 17, 2021, before formal education began. Ten days later, the post-test was given. Data was processed and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The mean pre-test knowledge score was 9.45, with a 2.65 standard deviation. In the post-test, the mean score was 19.40 with a standard deviation of 1.86. The computed mean difference was 9.95. The paired 't' test yielded 24.60 with 59 degrees of freedom. A p-value of 0.01 indicated statistical significance.