A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Public Administration and Management in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Master Degree of Health Systems Management of Mzumbe University.
October, 2019
Non-communicable diseases are the current public health concern worldwide. Most of the associated risk factors for non-communicable diseases are preventable. Therefore, understanding the level of knowledge and practices related to these diseases and their risk factors is important as it may inform key stakeholders to develop appropriate strategies to address the non-communicable related diseases.
The specific objectives of this study were (1) to determine the level of knowledge about non-communicable diseases, (2) to determine the level of knowledge about behavioural and metabolic risk factors for non-communicable diseases, (3) to assess the lifestyle practices of non-communicable diseases behavioural risk factors and (4) to determine the association between knowledge on non-communicable diseases and socio-demographic characteristics.
The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional study design. Convenience sampling was employed to enroll 131 participants. Questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. Data was analysed by using SPSS version 16.0. Chi-squared test was used to determine the associations between the dependent and independent variables.
Most of participants (64.1%) had moderate level of knowledge about non-communicable diseases. Age was significantly associated with the knowledge on non-communicable diseases (p=0.025). More than 50% of the study participants were aware about the behavioural and metabolic risk factors for the non-communicable diseases. Less than half (40.5%) of respondents were active consumers of tobacco. Furthermore, more than half (53.4%) reported to drink alcohol regularly, 86.3% were physically inactive, and more than 60% of reported to practice poor dietary habits.
Majority of bus drivers had adequate knowledge about non-communicable diseases and the associated risk factors. However practices related to behavioural risk factors for the non-communicable diseases was common among them. Public health interventions aimed at discouraging tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating behaviours and sedentary lifestyles among bus drivers are urgently needed.