TITLE:
Secondary Data Analysis of Tuberculosis Deaths in Bulawayo Province, Zimbabwe, 2016-2019
AUTHORS:
Tshebukani Mzingaye Moyo, Edwin Sibanda, Notion Tafara Gombe, Tsitsi Patience Juru, Emmanuel Govha, Maurice Omondi, Addmore Chadambuka, Mufuta Tshimanga
KEYWORDS:
Tuberculosis Death, Secondary Data Analysis, Bulawayo Province, Zimbabwe
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol.12 No.1,
February
7,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Tuberculosis is a leading cause of death globally, and the third leading cause of death in Zimbabwe. Death from any cause following a diag-nosis of tuberculosis is classified as a tuberculosis death. Bulawayo Province reported high tuberculosis death rates from 15.3% in 2016 to 14.2% in 2019 against a threshold of 5%. We analyzed tuberculosis deaths for Bulawayo Province to characterize patients dying and to make recommendations for im-proving treatment outcomes for susceptible tuberculosis cases. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. We analyzed all (N = 469) records of tuberculosis deaths from 19/19 Bulawayo tuberculosis diagnosing centers from 01 January 2016 to 31 December 2019. Microsoft® Excel 2007 was used to generate graphs and Stata® version 17 was used to conduct chi-square tests for trends. Results: Males accounted for 278/469 (59.3%) of the deaths. The median age of death was 40 years (Q1 = 33: Q3 = 51). The proportion of TB deaths increased from 63/114 (55%) in 2016 to 57/90 (63%) in 2019 for males (p Conclusion: High death rates particularly in the intensive phase, could be attributed to sub-optimal clinical care. Tuberculosis programs should work towards adopting differentiated care models for tuberculosis patients and developing algorithms for patients at high risk of death.