Attitudes toward tuberculosis of final year medical students from Canada, India, and Uganda

Tuberculosis, although both preventable and treatable, continues to be the world's leading cause of death from an infectious agent.

To extend the results of our previous study of knowledge and practices of final year medical students regarding tuberculosis at three medical schools from endemic and nonendemic areas and to describe their attitudes.

Eight statements assessing attitudes, as part of a larger survey, were administered to final year medical students at McMaster University in Canada, Christian Medical College in India, and Makerere University in Uganda.

One hundred sixty surveys were returned with 155 completed attitude responses. The response rate was 68.4% (65 of 95) for McMaster University, 39.7% (23 of 58) for the Christian Medical College, and 78.3% (72 of 92) for Makerere University. Analysis showed that six of eight attitude items were slightly statistically different among the schools with minimal effect of curriculum time and patient exposure.

Despite quite varied exposure to tuberculosis, students from endemic and nonendemic areas responded similarly on statements addressing attitudes toward tuberculosis.