Occupational Status and Educational Stage as a Valuable Factors Affecting Knowledge and Perception Level of Indonesian Tuberculosis Patient

Introduction: Indonesia has the second highest prevalence for Tuberculosis (TB) cases, with approximatelytwo-thirds of the patients undiagnosed. Some research had investigated several aspects supporting TBnew case finding a program, such as knowledge and perception while factors that affect those aspects e.g.,occupational status and educational stage have not been much researched yet in Indonesia.Objective: This study aimed to identify the level of knowledge and perception regarding tuberculosis andtheir correlation with occupational status and educational stage.Method: An observational analytic study with the cross-sectional design conducted. A total of 51 pulmonaryTB outpatients were collected and interviewed. A questionnaire was designed to obtain comprehensiveinformation about the variables studied which consists of patient’s demographic status (age, gender,occupational status, and educational stage), along with patient knowledge and perception regardingtuberculosis. Parameters of patient understanding and perception classified as good or low based on averagescore.Results: The result was analyzed using Coefficient Lambda revealing a significant correlation betweenoccupational status with a level of perception (r = 0.421, p = 0.025), while no significant correlation for thelevel of knowledge (p = 0.000). Spearman analysis found significant correlation between last educationalstage with level of education (r = 0.569, p = 0.000), while no significant correlation for level of perception(r = 0.200, p = 0.159).Conclusion: Occupational status is an essential factor for enhancing the knowledge level of TB patient, andlast educational stage is a valuable factor for intensifying level of perception of TB patient. These results willprovide information for government along with healthcare workers to enhance effective health promotionprogram regarding knowledge and perception for tuberculosis.