Knowledge and perceived risk of tuberculosis: US racial and regional differences

The purpose of this study is to report the findings of the 2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) questions on tuberculosis (TB) knowledge and perceived risk of contracting TB. Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major health threat in the United States, but minimal effort is made on public education to increase knowledge about TB. Using data from the 2004 NHIS, this study examined knowledge and perceived risk of TB of 26,136 US respondents. Results showed that nationally, how much a respondent knew about tuberculosis, knowing someone with tuberculosis, being 18-34 years old, and being Black were most strongly associated with perceived high to medium risk of getting TB. Black respondents were nearly twice as likely to perceive a high to moderate risk compared to other races in the Northeast and South. Knowing someone with tuberculosis or having a lot or some knowledge of the disease was strongly associated with perceived risk in all regions of the nation. Conclusions were to increase efforts targeted toward broad health promotion education activities on TB risk.