Impact of a training activity in knowledge, attitudes and perceptions on tuberculosis of medical students from the University of Risaralda, Colombia

Tuberculosis continues to be one of the most principal tropical diseases in terms of its morbidity and mortality. Since there the importance to improve its prevention, through different strategies, included the continuing medical education. In the context of the World Tuberculosis Day an educative symposium, including conferences and a theater play about different disease aspects (lasting 280 minutes), was done. Before start them, a questionnaire to assess knowledges, attitudes and perceptions about tuberculosis, based on the guide for surveys ACMS, of STOP Tuberculosis Partnership from the WHO, was applied. Finishing them this questionnaire was applied again. Differences between before and after results, using the χ²-test, 95 % confidence level, were compared. A total 109 universitary students (before) and 102 (after) were evaluated. About the applied questions, first of them was "How serious do you perceive the tuberculosis problem in your community?" In the pre-test survey only 50.9 % considered it as a very serious problem. In the post-test it increased to 94.1 % (χ²=49.602; P<0.001). In the pre-test, 31.5 % considered as something serious, 2.8 % not so serious, 8.3 % did not knew and 6.5 % did not answered. In the post-test, resting 5.9 % corresponded just to considered it as something serious. In general a significant improvement about the knowledges, attitudes and perceptions in symptoms, transmission, prevention, cure, how feel about been diagnosed and other evaluated aspects was observed (P<0.05). This type of approach, especially at community level, should be replicated, with the goal to improve the knowledges, attitudes and perceptions of the population not just universitary, but also general, about tuberculosis. It is required to give more information in the affected populations and their families about the transmission, in order to mitigate the myths and stigma, which is also prevalent.