{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T06:39:04Z","timestamp":1765262344309,"version":"3.46.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765238400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) affects approximately a quarter of the global population and poses a significant barrier to TB control, particularly in high-burden settings like South Africa. Public awareness of LTBI remains limited, with widespread misconceptions, especially within rural healthcare systems. This study assessed community knowledge of LTBI, evaluated the impact of prior educational exposure, and identified sociodemographic disparities and stigma-related beliefs in a rural Eastern Cape community.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sampling strategy among 245 adults attending a rural primary care facility in a high TB-burden area. A structured questionnaire was administered to assess participants\u2019 knowledge of LTBI, including its differentiation from active TB, associated risk factors, and treatment options.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Among participants (62% female, 99.6% Black African), LTBI knowledge was significantly higher among those with prior educational exposure (77% vs. 46%,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt;\u20090.001). Education also improved recognition of LTBI as distinct from active TB (74% vs. 41%) and enhanced understanding of disease progression risks (71% vs. 43%). Misconceptions regarding the contagiousness of LTBI were more prevalent among individuals without prior education. Younger individuals were more likely to have received LTBI education, while older adults, particularly men, were underrepresented.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Structured LTBI education substantially improves community knowledge. However, interventions must be tailored to demographic and cultural contexts to address stigma and misconceptions effectively. Integrating LTBI education into clinical governance and quality assurance frameworks may promote equitable, consistent, and stigma-sensitive TB prevention in rural settings, thereby contributing to improved patient outcomes and a stronger health system.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1656286","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T06:29:48Z","timestamp":1765261788000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessing awareness of latent tuberculosis infection: the urgent need for clinical governance-driven education in rural Eastern Cape \u2013 insights from a community-based study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Cebo","family":"Magwaza","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Urgent","family":"Tsuro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ntandazo","family":"Dlatu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mojisola Clara","family":"Hosu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Teke","family":"Apalata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lindiwe Modest","family":"Faye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S31","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2020.03.011","article-title":"Historical review of studies on the effect of treating latent tuberculosis","volume":"92","author":"M\u00f8lhave","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Infect Dis"},{"key":"ref2","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0003753","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0003753","article-title":"Burden of tuberculosis in underserved populations in South Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"4","author":"LML","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS Glob Public Health"},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"Global tuberculosis report 2023","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"Framework for TB patient care and support","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref6","volume-title":"The state of TB, 2024","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref7","author":"Kipp","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1197","DOI":"10.3390\/idr16060100","article-title":"Drug-resistant tuberculosis hotspots in Oliver Reginald tambo district municipality, eastern cape, South Africa","volume":"16","author":"Faye","year":"2024","journal-title":"Infect Dis Rep"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1","DOI":"10.4102\/phcfm.v17i1.4876","article-title":"Optimizing clinical governance and risk management in resource-limited hospitals: a family medicine model","volume":"17","author":"Naidoo","year":"2025","journal-title":"Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.21010\/ajid.v12i4.287","article-title":"Epidemiological drivers of tuberculosis transmission among young adults in sub-Saharan Africa","volume":"12","author":"Sithole","year":"2023","journal-title":"Afr J Infect Dis"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"628","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-025-12628-9","article-title":"The role of tuberculosis stigma on test and treatment uptake for tuberculosis infection: a systematic review","volume":"25","author":"K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"918","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-025-12918-5","article-title":"Evaluating community knowledge of tuberculosis preventive therapy in rural South Africa","volume":"25","author":"Foppiano Palacios","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.12688\/wellcomeopenres.169","article-title":"Can we find the missing men in clinics? Clinic attendance by sex and HIV status in rural South Africa","volume":"6","author":"Randera-Rees","year":"2023","journal-title":"Wellcome Open Res"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"188","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-020-8219-y","article-title":"Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and stigma related to latent tuberculosis infection: a qualitative study among Eritreans in the Netherlands","volume":"20","author":"Spruijt","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"168","DOI":"10.5588\/ijtld.13.0181","article-title":"A systematic review of global cultural variations in knowledge, attitudes, and health responses to tuberculosis stigma","volume":"18","author":"Chang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int J Tuberc Lung Dis"},{"key":"ref16","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1186\/s40249-022-01013-9","article-title":"Intervention pathways to reduce tuberculosis-related stigma: a literature review and conceptual framework","volume":"11","author":"Nuttall","year":"2022","journal-title":"Infect Dis Poverty"},{"key":"ref18","volume-title":"National Strategic Plan on HIV, TB, and STIs 2017\u20132022","year":"2017"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1205","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-021-11205-7","article-title":"Improving pathways to care through interventions co-created with communities: a qualitative investigation of men\u2019s barriers to tuberculosis care-seeking in an informal settlement in Blantyre, Malawi","volume":"21","author":"Phiri","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref20","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"951","DOI":"10.1007\/s11606-023-08158-2","article-title":"Randomized controlled trial of clinical guidelines versus interactive decision-support for improving medical trainees\u2019 confidence with latent tuberculosis care","volume":"39","author":"Starke","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Gen Intern Med"},{"key":"ref22","volume-title":"First national tuberculosis prevalence survey, South Africa 2018","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2093","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare13172093","article-title":"Strengthening clinical governance and public health interventions to improve drug-resistant tuberculosis outcomes in rural South Africa","volume":"13","author":"Hosu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Healthcare"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-022-07049-1","article-title":"Improving screening and management of latent tuberculosis infection: developing and evaluating a primary care model","volume":"22","author":"Kunin","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Infect Dis"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.47836\/mjmhs.20.6.12","article-title":"Prevalence, knowledge, attitude, and practice on latent tuberculosis infection among medical students at a Malaysian university: a cross-sectional study","volume":"20","author":"Musa","year":"2024","journal-title":"Malays J Med Health Sci"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1656286\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]],"date-time":"2025-12-09T06:29:49Z","timestamp":1765261789000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1656286\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]]},"references-count":25,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1656286"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1656286","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,9]]},"article-number":"1656286"}}