Can a person suffering from tuberculosis get a job?
According to the results of a sociological study commissioned by the charity “Ukraines development” and presented in Kyiv on Tuesday 25 September, Ukrainians dont believe that they could be cured of tuberculosis.
None of those surveyed believed that a person suffering from tuberculosis could receive all necessary help according to their place of residence. Only 28% know that diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis are free of charge, and over 30% consider treatment an expensive luxury.
One paradoxical finding was that people trust doctors yet dont believe that they will receive qualified medical help. At the same time, a third of respondents in the Donetsk region consider the possibility of contracting tuberculosis to be quite realistic. This is a fairly high figure if compared with other egions.
While almost 100% of those surveyed were informed about the disease, the level of awareness of symptoms at different stages of the disease was reasonably low. 84% were convinced that the main symptom of tuberculosis is a cough, whereas this is not observed in the early stages of the illness.
With regard to peoples attitude to tuberculosis, over one half answered that they would not employ a person with tuberculosis. 23% did not respond. In the Donetsk region the level of tolerance towards people with tuberculosis was lower with 61% prepared to turn down a person with tuberculosis.
Respondents believed that the most effective factor in the fight against tuberculosis would be an improvement in the socio-tconomic situation in the country (73%).
The monitoring is of a comparative nature, with residents of different regions being surveyed (2 thousand people and some residents of the Donetsk region (800).