Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tuberculosis in a low-incidence area in the USA

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a large global health threat, including increasing cases in generally low-incidence areas of the USA. However, the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding TB in these low-incidence areas are underexplored, precluding planning for effective health communication in these areas regarding travel to high-incidence areas or potential future outbreaks in currently low-incidence areas. Using the health belief model as a theoretical framework, we developed a KAP survey to assess public perceptions of TB in Colorado, a currently low-incidence area. We collected complete responses from n=225 adults. We found that participants had higher self-assessed knowledge than actual knowledge about TB. We also found that while participants recognized TB as a global health threat, they were not personally worried about contracting TB. However, a portion of participants indicated that they would feel shame if they contracted TB. Public knowledge and risk perception about TB could be improved by providing information in low-incidence areas on the public health burden of TB. Additionally, providing health communication to focus on emotion management and reducing stigma about the disease would be important to promote healthcare-seeking and treatment compliance in case of a future outbreak.