KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND UPTAKE OF TUBERCULOSIS SCREENING SERVICES AMONG GOLD MINERS IN THE DATUKO SUB-DISTRICT IN THE TALENSI DISTRICT GHANA

Abstract

Background: In Ghana, uptake of tuberculosis (TB) screening services among miners is sub-optimal. The study assessed the knowledge, attitude and uptake of TB screening services among gold miners in the Datuko sub-district in Talensi district Ghana. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study design using a mixed-method approach among 384 adult mine workers. A questionnaire and key informant interview guides were the instruments for data collection and both descriptive and inferential analysis was done using SPSS version 22.00. Results: About 94.5% of the respondents have heard of TB and the overall knowledge of the cause of TB was poor, as 66.1% of the participants said TB was caused by smoking. The majority of the participants (66.4%) had poor attitudes towards TB screening and a few of them (15.4%) had screened for TB. The composite score for knowledge and attitudes of the respondents towards TB screening was 1.61 and 1.41 respectively. There was an association between having heard of TB and recognizing the importance of TB screening service with a p-value of 0.001. There was also a connection between having heard of TB and uptake of screening service (p=0.001). The only factor that determined uptake of TB screening was the educational level of the respondents. The qualitative study among health staff revealed that awareness of TB was high among miners but they perceived those attitudes and use of the TB screening services were sub-optimal. Conclusion: Both knowledge and attitudes of TB screening services among miners were poor which resulted in a sub-optimal uptake of TB screening services. Also, the educational level of the respondents predicted uptake of TB screening service. It is therefore important for policy makers to strengthen TB control activities through health promotional programmes.