Factors in Tuberculosis Prevention Among Students of Benue State University Makurdi, North Central Nigeria

Background: Tuberculosis is endemic in our various communities in Nigeria; and constitutes a major health emergency globally. Nigeria is the 7th high burden Tuberculosis country in the world. A high level of community awareness and positive perception towards tuberculosis and its management is important for any effective control strategy. Method: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey, of Benue State University students, Makurdi during the month of January 2020. The sample size was 427 and all were over 15 years of age. All the survey items were extracted from WHO Guideline. It was adjusted, tested and validated. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 23 years, and over 54% were between the ages of 21-25 years. The level of tuberculosis knowledge showed that 93.8% were aware of tuberculosis disease, 48.5% implicated bacteria as the cause and 60.3% said the main sources of infection were coughing, sneezing and talking. Ninety seven percent said tuberculosis was preventable and 38.5% implicated BCG as an agent for preventing tuberculosis. In terms of practice, over 54% used hands to cover their mouth while sneezing, 59.3% used handkerchief and 67.4% took drugs prescribed by doctors. There were significant associations between knowledge and practice in most areas in this study. Conclusion: Our study revealed that there was no significant association between knowledge and practice in terms of taken all drugs prescribed by doctors for the prevention of tuberculosis. A health education strategy with raising of awareness and social mobilization actions should be planned and implemented.