Background: Recent estimates from the Ministry of Health and Social Services in Namibia
indicate that, 74% of TB patients have a known HIV status, and that among them 58% are HIV
positive (MOHSS, 2010). It is in light of this, that the study aimed to assess the level of
knowledge, attitudes and practices of TB patients with regard to TB and TB-HIV co-infection in
the district of Walvis Bay, in the western part of Namibia. The study was conducted among TB
patients aged 18 years and older who were registered from January to June 2010.

Methodology: A quantitative research method using a cross-sectional survey design was used.
Data was collected from 267 respondents using a structured questionnaire administered by
research assistants in face-to-face interviews with the respondents. The data was analyzed using
descriptive statistics, Guttman scaling, Q-sort technique and factor analysis, ANOVA and Chisquare
test procedures in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16.
Results: The majority of the respondents (78.2%) had a high level of knowledge on prevention
and 73.5% had a low level of knowledge on care. More than sixty percent (65%) of respondents
with an unknown HIV status had a positive attitude towards VCT. The majority of respondents
(84.4%) with an unknown HIV status were willing to be tested for HIV when there were
diagnosed with TB.
Discussion and Conclusion: The findings showed a high level of knowledge on TB/HIV
prevention and a low level of knowledge on TB/HIV treatment and care. The study also showed
that respondents who did not know their HIV status had a positive attitude towards VCT
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services, while those who knew their status had a positive attitude towards HIV/TB prevention
and care programmes. Finally, the findings also showed that most respondents trusted
conventional medicine more than traditional medicine. All these findings suggested that
respondents had good knowledge of HIV and TB co-infection, had a positive attitude and
practiced favourable behaviour towards programmes related to the prevention and care of this
co-infection.