Factors Driving the Knowledge of Tuberculosis in Pakistani Men: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a significant infectious disease worldwide. The prevalence of TB in Pakistan remains high. A thorough assessment of the population's knowledge about the disease could aid in reducing its transmission. Our objective was to identify demographic and socioeconomic variables that may impact the understanding of TB among Pakistani men (n=3691) and to analyze its influence.

We utilized secondary data from the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), collected between November 2017 and April 2018. We examined participants' knowledge about tuberculosis (TB) through various questions about its characteristics, transmission, curability, and duration. Other factors such as residence, education, internet access, and media preferences were also assessed. A knowledge index ranging from 0 to 9 was developed for each participant in which correct responses were scored as "1," while incorrect ones were scored as "0”. The data were analyzed using both one-way ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Most participants were aged 15 to 34 (48.2%) and had completed secondary school (35.8%). 94.3% of participants reported being aware of TB, with higher education showing the highest level of awareness (98.7%). Greater knowledge of TB was associated with reading newspapers or magazines once a week or less (mean score 7.22 ± 1.14, CI: 7.15-7.29, and 7.31 ± 1.11, CI: 7.23-7.40, respectively), watching television once a week or less (mean score 7.22 ± 1.13, CI: 7.00-7.25, and 7.15 ± 1.06, CI: 7.05-7.23, respectively), owning a mobile phone (mean score 7.15 ± 1.1, CI: 7.08-7.19), and having a bank account (mean score 7.33 ± 1.14, CI: 7.28-7.39) (all P<0.01).

There was a significant association between a higher level of TB knowledge and higher educational status, access to print media or television, mobile phone ownership, and having a bank account. Despite the high knowledge among participants, several practical implications should be addressed to combat the disease effectively. These practical implications include a high prevalence of TB, limited access to healthcare, socioeconomic factors, and the emergence of drug-resistant TB strains. In the context of future research on the same topic, we suggest conducting comparative studies among different nations to discern the variances in TB knowledge across the globe.