Impact of sensitization workshop on knowledge regarding tuberculosis among graduate students of rural area of Bareilly District

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern worldwide. It has been seen that TB control efforts worldwide are although impressive, but not sufficient. Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) are an integral and important strategy of the program to create awareness among general public. Objective:  The study was conducted to assess the impact of sensitization workshop regarding tuberculosis among graduate students of rural area of Bareilly district.Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2017 to July 2017 by interviewing 146 students in a college in rural area of Bareilly district, U.P after multistage sampling. A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the pre-workshop and post-workshop data. The data obtained was compiled and statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 23.Results: A paired-samples t-test was conducted to analyse the impact of sensitization workshop among the students. The mean scores for knowledge regarding TB symptoms pre-workshop was 3.20 ± 1.90 and post-workshop was 5.68 ± 1.58.Conclusion: Knowledge about various aspects of TB was significantly improved after students attended a training workshop. Efforts should be geared towards education in terms of training and retraining regarding TB, as it is known that IEC activities can create awareness among students, thus eradicating the stigma and fear associated with it.