Knowledge of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis amongst Durban University of Technology students in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: the need for integrating public health education

BACKGROUND: Kwazulu-Natal is the epicenter of South Africa's Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) burden which represents a growing threat to public health. Knowledge and awareness of MDR-TB are crucial for effective management and University students are an important vehicle for knowledge transfer of public health education. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of MDR TB and risk factors for transmission, prevention, treatment and control of MDR-TB among Durban University of Technology (DUT) students. METHODS: This quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 randomly sampled undergraduate students from 3 faculties and data was collected using a validated questionnaire. RESULTS: While a majority of participants (70.67%) had previous knowledge on TB, only 30.67% knew of MDR-TB. Only 23.49% of students reported knowledge of preventative measures associated with MDR TB. Women had a lower probability of having knowledge of MDR-TB compared to men (OR=0.45; CI:0.22,0.95; p<0.05) and students from the Accounting and Informatics faculty were less likely to believe that MDR-TB was a life-threatening illness (OR=0.24; CI:0.05,1.44; p<0.05) and showed limited knowledge of MDR-TB transmission. CONCLUSION: This study showed that students lacked knowledge of MDR-TB with respect to risk factors, treatment and prevention, which necessitates intervention strategies at a tertiary level to educate and inform students about MDR-TB.