Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 108, Issue 5 , Pages 377-385, May 2009

Assessment of Changes in Knowledge and Stigmatization Following Tuberculosis Training Workshops in Taiwan

  • Ping-Sheng Wu

      Affiliations

    • Community Medicine Research Center and Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Pesus Chou

      Affiliations

    • Community Medicine Research Center and Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Nien-Tzu Chang

      Affiliations

    • Community Medicine Research Center and Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Wen-Jung Sun

      Affiliations

    • Community Medicine Research Center and Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Hsu-Sung Kuo

      Affiliations

    • Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Dr Hsu-Sung Kuo, Director, Centers for Disease Control, 9F, 6 Linshen South Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan

Received 19 June 2008; received in revised form 1 October 2008; accepted 12 November 2008.

Article Outline

Background/Purpose 

There is little understanding of the depth of knowledge of health workers involved in tuberculosis (TB) control programs, and even less is known about health workers attaching stigma to TB patients. This study surveyed health workers enrolled in TB training workshops prior to the execution of the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) program.

Methods

All participants attended the training course and completed structured questionnaires before (pre-test) and after training (post-test). The questionnaires were collected immediately following completion and the scores were analyzed.

Results

Pair comparison of knowledge scores revealed that all participants made statistically significant improvements in level of TB knowledge, except those who had a history of TB (p = 0.331). Pair comparison of stigmatization scores revealed a reduction in stigmatization, with the DOTS workers attaching less stigma to TB patients. After training, caregivers, including women (p = 0.012), public health workers (p = 0.028), 40–49-year-old subjects (p = 0.035), those with an education of < 12 years (p = 0.024), those who had been a volunteer (p = 0.018), and those who had a history of TB and those who did not (p = 0.034, p = 0.036), were significantly less likely to stigmatize patients. TB knowledge was not found to be significantly correlated with stigmatization (pre-test, p = 0.298; post-test, p = 0.821).

Conclusion

Training workshops in TB control were effective for promotion of knowledge and elimination of stigmatization in first-line caregivers. DOTS workers attached less stigma to TB patients than public health workers, and older workers who had been volunteers attached the least stigma.

Key Words:  knowledge , stereotyping , tuberculosis

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PII: S0929-6646(09)60081-4

doi:10.1016/S0929-6646(09)60081-4

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 108, Issue 5 , Pages 377-385, May 2009

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