KNOWLEDGE AND PREVENTIVE PRACTICES AGAINST PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS IN SELECTED CHURCHES IN NIGER DELTA DIOCESE, RIVERS STATE.
Abstract
According to the 2023 World Tuberculosis Report, Nigeria is ranked sixth among the 30 nations
with the highest TB burden in the world, and first in Africa. This study was carried out to assess the
knowledge and preventive practices against pulmonary tuberculosis among young adults (15-26) in
the Selected Churches in Niger Delta Diocese, Rivers State, Nigeria. Three objectives were
formulated to guide this study and they included; to ascertain if young adults know about
pulmonary tuberculosis in the selected churches, assess the precautionary measures taken against
pulmonary tuberculosis and identify the socio-demographic factors influencing pulmonary
tuberculosis knowledge among young adults. Also, one null hypothesis were formulated to guide
the study. The research design adopted for this study was a descriptive cross-sectional design. The
sample used was a Simple random sampling technique and sample size of 180 was gotten using
Taro Yamane formula. The instrument utilized for data collection was a validated self-structured
questionnaire. The data was analysed using SPSS 27. ANOVA was used to test for hypotheses at a
0.05 level of significance. The result shows that the respondents have a moderate knowledge of
51% and a grand mean of 1.62 in the preventive practice which suggests a positive practice towards
pulmonary tuberculosis prevention. The findings also show that socio-demographic factors like
income, gender, occupation and age has an influence on the knowledge of pulmonary tuberculosis.
This calls for attention to other factors that can affect not only the knowledge, but also the
preventive practices against pulmonary tuberculosis. In conclusion, there is need for health
professionals in collaboration with government agencies to provide awareness campaigns, events
and workshops to reach a broader audience to improve the level of knowledge and preventive
practices against pulmonary tuberculosis.
Key words: Pulmonary tuberculosis, knowledge, preventive practices, selected churches.
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