This report outlines key findings from a Knowledge-Attitudes-Practices (KAP) survey commissioned by The Union, with the support of the Gates Foundation, and conducted with technical support from the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (Ashoka University) across five states in India.
The study, aimed to understand why individuals delay or avoid visiting a doctor to seek advice and get tested for likely symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).
Data was collected from over 4,000 respondents in 20 districts across five states in North India, states with high TB prevalence and poor health seeking behaviour among TB symptomatic people. The sample was representative at the state level on socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, location, income).
It focused on the role of knowledge gaps, risk perception, avoidance of doctors or health facilities, stigma, and behavioural factors, such as time preference and risk aversion. It also tested whether behaviourally informed messages could encourage earlier care-seeking symptoms of TB.
This unique KAP study is a critical milestone in generating evidence based research to inform TB behaviour change campaigns in India.