Knowledge and Practice on Tuberculosis among Prison Workers from Seremban Prison

Background: Prisons are always overcrowded, and congestion leads to close relationships, and subsequently, increases the likelihood of airborne illnesses including Tuberculosis (TB). The purpose of this study was to identify the level of knowledge of TB transmission, and TB preventive practices of prison workers in a Malaysian prison. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with convenience sampling technique utilizing a validated questionnaire. 280 prison workers employed at the Seremban Prison were invited to participate in the study. The study period was from January 2019 to June 2019. Inclusion criteria included age above 18 years old and English literacy. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts which were sociodemographic details, knowledge on TB transmission and TB preventive practices. The analysis was done in SPSS version 24.0 using appropriate statistical tests. Descriptive statistics was used to evaluate the knowledge level of TB transmission, and TB preventive practices of prison workers at Seremban prison. Results: Around 190 questionnaires were obtained usable registering a response rate of 68.5%. This study showed that around 66% of prison workers had moderate knowledge while around 26% had good knowledge of TB transmission. In terms of practice, around 93.7% of prison workers applied good TB prevention practice. Conclusion: This study showed that the majority of the respondents had moderate knowledge regarding TB transmission. However, their disease preventive practices were at acceptable levels which implied that existing prison standard operating procedures play an important on instilling these practices. Nonetheless, prison management should take important action by providing education and training to increase TB knowledge among prison workers to ensure that this practice is always upheld in both prison and community settings.