Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention on Pulmonary Tuberculosis among Monks of BenchenNangten Thoesam Ling Monastery of Pharping

Abstract

Introduction: Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) is a communicable disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, transmitted through airborne particles small enough to reach the lungs. PTB remains a major public health concern in Nepal. Studies show that there is a lack of knowledge about PTB, especially in community settings. This study aims to assess the knowledge of PTB among monks and evaluate the impact of an educational intervention at Benchen Monastery.
Methods: A pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was implemented, involving 61 monks from BenchenNangten Thoesam Ling monastery to assess the effectiveness of the independent variable “educational intervention” on the dependent variable “knowledge on Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB).” A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Paired sample T-test was used to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention on knowledge regarding PTB at a level of significance with a p-value less than 0.05.
Results: Before the intervention, a majority of monks exhibited low 56(91.8%) to moderate 5(8.2%) levels of knowledge regarding pulmonary tuberculosis. Following the educational intervention, the proportion of monks with high knowledge levels increased significantly to 58(95.1%). Data analysis confirmed a significant difference between pretest and post-test scores, indicating a substantial improvement in knowledge after the intervention.
Conclusion: This study concludes the effectiveness of targeted educational strategies in enhancing monk’s knowledge about pulmonary tuberculosis.