| BackgroundTuberculosis (TB)is a chronic disease that has done much harm to human beings' health, and it was declared in 60s last century that TB would be wiped out in 2000 as a problem in public health. The result of nationwide epidemiolo-gical sampling survey of TB in 2000, however, revealed that the incidence of active TB came up to 367/100000 and the incidence of smear positive TB was up to 122/100000. In 1993 WHO proclaimed a worldwide emergency state of TB. According to WHO's estimates, 2 billion people worldwide have been infected by TB and about two million people die of TB each year. The total number of deaths of TB is expected to reach 35 million in 2020. In 1998, WHO again pointed out that immediate actions must be taken to hold back TB. It was stated in Implementation Guide to China's Project of TB Prevention and Control published in 2002 by the Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Public Health that China is one of the 22 TB heavy-burden countries in the world. An object was set in National TB Project of Prevention and Control(2001-2010)issued in 2001 by the General Office of State Council that nationwide awareness rate of TB prevention and control was to reach 60% in 2005 and 80% in 2010. At present, around 80% of tuberculosis patients in China live in the countryside. Tuberculosis epidemic in economically underdeveloped central and western regions is particularly serious. Tuberculosis is also one of the serious diseases that is responsible for the poverty and the return of some peasants to the poverty in the country of China. Effectively preventing and controlling TB epidemic requires not only the fund-input of the government and the efforts of the medical community but also multi-sectoral co-operation and public awareness of TB, which accounts for the conduct of the present investigation in the country. The investigation was performed to further evaluate the villagers' knowledge of TB prevention and control, and thus to provide referential basis for the health sectors, so that prevention and control education of TB, health education and promotion work of health care could be carried out with a definite target.ObjectiveTo study and investigate the rural villagers' awareness level of TB prevention and control in the city of Baotou and their access to information as well, and to analyze its possible predisposing factors so as to provide the reference for further education of more effective tuberculosis prevention and control, health education and health promotion work in the future.MethodsWith sampling at complete random, the questionnaire of public knowledge, beliefs, behaviors in national tuberculosis prevention and control recommended by "Report" was used to make an investigation on the awareness level of TB prevention and control and the access to the information concerning TB among 1156 villagers(15 years old and the above) from Tuyouqi in the city of Baotou.ResultsOf 1156 villagers questioned for the investigation, there were 493 males(42.7%) and 663 females(52.7%),with the youngest 15 years old and the eldest 73 years old,50.2 years old on the average. The villagers' total awareness rate of core information for TB prevention and control was 40.5%;the total awareness rate of 3 leading items of core information was 7.8%;the total awareness rate of another two key items of core information was 12.6% and the total awareness rate of all the eight items of information was 7.4%.72.2% of the responders were aware that tuberculosis was an infectious disease;37.0% of the responders could correctly answer the questions about the state's policy of free medical exam and treatment of TB. It was found that the villagers' awareness level fell with advance in age(P<0.05) and that the male's awareness level was higher than the female's(P< 0.05).There was a remarkable difference in single-item awareness rate among the individuals. The vast majority of the villagers learnt that tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease that can bring on a threat against the health, with a remarkable symptom of persistent cough, and significantly affect the ability to work, but can be cured. The villagers' awareness rate of early treatment of tuberculosis, specialized medical organizations for tuberculosis, free exam and treatment policies was comparatively low. There commonly existed discrimination against TB patients and 46.4% of the villagers chose to keep TB patients at distance or even to avoid contacting with them.The Villagers acquired TB information mainly through interpersonal communication, with a coverage of 76 percent. Television led the media in providing TB information, with a coverage of 43.8%. Newspapers, magazines and books took the lowest coverage of 11.6%.Conclusion and SuggestionsVillagers in the countryside have a certain understanding of TB, but the total awareness rate of eight items of core information(40.5%) is lower than the nationwide average(48.9%). The complete awareness rate of eight items of core information is comparatively low(7.4%), with the male's awareness rate higher than the female's. There are differences in awareness rate among various age groups, and the awareness rate of TB prevention and control drops with age. There is a huge gap between the villagers' awareness rate of TB and the target rate of awareness established in National TB Project of Prevention and Control(2001-2010). Every effort should be made to enhance TB prevention and control and to strengthen health education. Much attention should be paid to the popularization and publicity of knowledge concerning TB prevention and control, with an emphasis on the females and the old.Villagers fail to acquire a comprehensive understanding of TB infection and prevention. Moreover, they are not well -informed about specialized organizations for diagnosis and treatment of TB, and state's policies of free treatment of TB. It is suggested that special efforts should be made to strengthen the publicity of the knowledge on the above aspects and to raise the villagers' awareness rate of TB, making the villagers fully understand and enjoy the state's policies of TB prevention and control. Additionally, much attention should be paid to the discrimination against TB patients, as 46.4% of the villagers choose to keep them at a distance or not to make contact with them. TB prevention and control organizations are supposed to offer correct guidance and manage to change such conditions.The main way for villagers to get TB information is interpersonal communication, followed by television and propaganda pictures. Fewer villagers gain information from broadcasting, books and magazines. It is advised to promote the media propaganda through broadcasting, television and newspapers, etc. Various forms of health education should be carried out to meet the needs of the villagers, thus establish the long-term mechanism. As the survey suggests, health education and publicity materials is a better way for the villagers to obtain health knowledge, which is well directed and should be made the best use of in the future TB prevention and control, serving as a useful complement to such mass media as broadcasting and television.It is a long way to go to carry out health education in the rural areas. The result of the investigation shows that the people's awareness rate of TB in the country is lower than that in urban areas. The epidemic characteristics in China, however, is that the incidence of TB in the country is higher than that in the urban areas, which is not conducive to the prevention of TB and identification of TB patients in the early stage. Village communities are the crucial areas for the future TB health education. Extensive TB education ought to be launched so as to raise the residents' awareness level of TB prevention and control in the village communities.
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