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Background Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most common causes of mortality worldwide. The global tuberculosis report in 2020 states that TB remains a major public health problem. Even though the incidence of TB in Palestine has fluctuated recently, medical students' training and education about TB are necessary to perform effective clinical practice and to control the disease appropriately in the future. This study aims to assess the experiences, knowledge, and awareness toward TB among medical students in the West Bank, Palestine, and to compare the level of knowledge among clinical and pre-clinical medical students.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students at two Palestinian medical schools. The students were enrolled voluntarily and were administered a well-structured electronic questionnaire analyzed using SPSS version 26.0 after ethical approval was given.Results A total of 383 students participated in the study and were divided into two groups, pre-clinical 252 (65.8%) and clinical 131 (34.2%). Most (89.1%) had never seen TB in clinical practice, and two-thirds (66.8%) considered themselves ignorant about TB. Although BCG vaccination is mandatory in Palestine, only 36.6% of medical students believed that they were vaccinated with BCG. Only 4.4% and 20.6% of clinical students had performed a Mantoux test and observed at least one X-ray of a TB case, respectively. The year of study was associated with students’ knowledge of TB (P > 0.05). 76.3% of clinical and 25.6% of preclinical sd that a positive Mantoux test doesn’t mean a definite TB infection and about 77.1% of clinical and 31.7% of preclinical perceived that Penicillin G is not useful for TB treatment. Medical students had poor knowledge about the prophylactic treatment of TB (9.9%) and the prevalence of TB disease in Palestine (12.5%).Conclusion Clinical students significantly had better knowledge than pre-clinical. The study showed limited experience, awareness, and knowledge regarding TB among medical students. The findings suggest that more effort is needed to improve medical students' knowledge regarding TB disease. |
