Study on the Effect of Behavioral Interventions Based on the Theory of “Knowledge, Attitude, Practice” on Tuberculosis Cognitive Level of Close Contacts

Abstract

Objective: Based on the theory of “Knowledge, Attitude, Practice,” health education was carried out for close contact with tuberculosis (TB) at a university in Beijing, and its impact on the students’ awareness of TB was studied. This study could provide a reference for effective health education interventions among close contacts of TB in undergraduates. Methods: 102 undergraduates who had close contact with one confirmed case of pulmonary TB in April 2021 at a university were randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group. The intervention group was given the “Knowledge, Attitude, Practice” health education intervention by professionally trained doctors, and were asked to complete a self-designed TB-related questionnaire before and after the intervention. Both groups performed the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) and chest X-ray (CR) examination. Results: The rate of the TST test was 18.6%, and CR examination showed 0 cases of pulmonary TB. The survey results showed that the TB awareness rate (96.1%, 49/51) in the intervention group was significantly higher than that of the control group (51.0%, 26/51), and the differences in awareness rate between the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Regarding the attitude/skills toward TB, the prevalence rate of tuberculosis-related attitude/behavior in the intervention group (94.1%, 47/51) was significantly higher than that of the control group (60.8%, 31/51), and the differences between the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Both self-controlled and parallel-controlled studies showed that the health education intervention of “Knowledge, Attitude, Practice” improved the awareness of TB among close contacts of TB in undergraduates.