Impact of sensitization workshop on knowledge regarding tuberculosis among final year medical students

Background: India is the highest TB burden country in the world and accounts for nearly one fifth (20%) of global burden of tuberculosis. Every year, approximately 1.8 million persons develop tuberculosis, of which about 8,00,000 are infectious and until recently, 3,70,000 cases died of it annually. In India, today, two deaths occur every three minutes from tuberculosis, but these deaths can be prevented with proper care and treatment. Materials and Methods: An interventional study was conducted from January to March 2009 by interviewing 86 final year medical students studying at Rural Medical College, Loni, India. A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the pre-workshop and post-workshop data. Questions were based on the knowledge regarding tuberculosis. Results were analyzed statistically using percentage, proportions, and Chi-square test. Results: In this study, about 55 (63.9%) participants correctly specified RNTCP objectives in pre-test, while in post-test, 80 (93.1%) participants could state correct response ( P P Conclusion: Sensitization workshops increase the knowledge of tuberculosis amongst the medical students. RNTCP training should be a part of regular activity of all medical colleges.