TITLE:
Patient and Health System Factors Associated with First Line Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence, 2009-2014
AUTHORS:
Gifty Adu, Bernice N. Harris, Andy Beke
KEYWORDS:
Adherence, First-Line, Tuberculosis, Treatment, Non-Adherence, Health System Factors, Patient
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Tuberculosis Research,
Vol.10 No.4,
December
28,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: The prevalence and incidence rate of tuberculosis
remains high although the disease is known to be almost always curable provided
the patient adheres to the treatment regimen. This study assessed the strength
of association between known patient and health system factors associated with
first line tuberculosis treatment adherence. Methods: A quantitative
cross sectional study. Retrospective chart reviews were conducted among 570 persons who had primary
tuberculosis and received first line treatment at a health facility within the
Nkangala district, Mpumalanga province and who had a treatment outcome recorded
between 1st January 2009 and 31st December 2014. Adherence to first line tuberculosis
treatment was defined as taking ≥80% of tuberculosis prescribed drugs within a
period of 6 to 8 months. Stata software (logistic regressions model) was used
to analyze results and find the strength of association between known factors
and treatment adherence. Results: Out of the 570 study participants, 473 were adherent and 96 were not
adherent. There was a statistically significant association between age 18
years and above (OR: 1.02, P-value: 0.027), sex (lower in
males OR: 0.44, P-value: 0.001) and support (OR: 3.04, P-value: 0.05) and HIV (OR: 1, P-value: 0.634) and first line TB
treatment adherence. Conclusion and Recommendation:
>80% adherence to first line tuberculosis outcome is possible. The support given to people with tuberculosis will
further enhance adherence to first line tuberculosis treatment.