Barriers and facilitators of adherence to TB treatment in patients on concomitant TB and HIV treatment: a qualitative study

Assessment of Non-Adherence to Anti-TB Drugs and Associated Factors Among Patients Attending TB Treatment Centers During COVID-19 Pandemic in Mogadishu, Somalia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic's first wave and subsequent lockdowns disrupted global healthcare systems, significantly impacting essential services including tuberculosis (TB) care. Non-adherence to anti-TB drugs is a critical concern, leading to treatment failure, drug resistance, and increased morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the rate and determinants of non-adherence to TB treatment among patients at TB centers during the first wave of the pandemic.

Material and Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 15 to July 30, 2020, involving 255 TB patients at three centers in Mogadishu. Data were gathered using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) through structured interviews and analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression.

Results

The study found a 34.5% non-adherence rate during the pandemic. Key reasons for non-adherence included forgetting to take medication (33%), feeling well (29%), experiencing side effects (18%), and fear of contracting COVID-19 (16%). Significant factors associated with non-adherence were age groups 25-34 years (OR = 2.96, p = 0.024) and 35-44 years (OR = 4.55, p = 0.005), unemployment (OR = 2.57, p = 0.037), smoking (OR = 3.49, p = 0.029), tobacco use (OR = 4.15, p = 0.034), proximity to a health facility (OR = 0.44, p = 0.033), perception of healthcare providers as very friendly (OR = 0.24, p = 0.031) or friendly (OR = 0.45, p = 0.023), being in the continuous treatment phase (OR = 3.2, p < 0.001), and experiencing adverse treatment effects (OR = 2.42, p = 0.003).

Conclusion

Non-adherence to anti-tuberculosis treatment was notably high in Mogadishu during the first wave of the pandemic, necessitating targeted interventions to improve adherence.

Effectiveness of nutritional support to improve treatment adherence in patients with tuberculosis: a systematic review

CONTEXT

Nutritional interventions substantially improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes and prevent complications. However, there is limited evidence about the connections between having nutritional support and TB treatment adherence.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of nutritional support in improving treatment adherence among patients with TB.

DATA SOURCES

Databases, including PubMed, Embase (Ovid), Web of Science, and Scopus, were comprehensively reviewed to identify relevant studies reporting the impacts of nutritional support on TB treatment adherence.

DATA EXTRACTION

Two authors independently screened the title, abstracts, and full article texts to identify eligible studies and assess the risk of bias. Observational and interventional studies were included.

DATA ANALYSIS

A narrative synthesis approach was used to summarize the findings qualitatively.

RESULTS

From the search, 3059 publications were identified; of these, 8 studies were included in this systematic review. Three types of nutritional interventions were identified: food baskets (eg, energy, micronutrient- or macronutrient-enriched food support), nutritional advice and guidance, and incentives for buying foods. Although 5 studies reported that nutritional support significantly improved treatment adherence in patients with TB, 3 studies showed that nutritional support had no effect on TB treatment adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

Providing nutritional support may improve adherence to TB treatment. However, more well-powered, high-quality trials are warranted to demonstrate the effect of nutrition support on cost-effectively improving adherence to TB treatment.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration no. CRD42023392162.

Determinants influencing health-promoting behaviors in individuals at high risks of stroke: a cross-sectional study

Background

Quit smoking, moderate drinking, exercise, and healthy eating habits are all known to decrease the risk of stroke. As a result, understanding the health behaviors of high risk groups for stroke is crucial. Health behavior is influenced by knowledge, social environment, and health beliefs. However, little research has been done on these relationships. For a better grasp of the relationships mentioned above, consider using the COM-B model (capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior). The purpose of this study was to investigate the variables related to health behavior and to test the mediating effect of health beliefs.

Methods

The cross-sectional study was carried out at a physical examination center of a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China. 986 high-risk populations of stroke have been tested using the Health Behavior Scale (HBS-SP), Stroke Knowledge Questionnaire (SKQ), Health Beliefs Questionnaire (HBS), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The structural equation modeling was used in this study.

Results

The scores for MSPSS, SKQ, HBS, and HBS-SP were 60.64 ± 13.72, 26.60 ± 9.77, 157.71 ± 34.34, and 2.46 ± 0.41, respectively. The revised model fits well (approximate root mean square error = 0.042; comparative fit index = 0.946). The health behavior was obviously and positively correlated to social Support, stroke knowledge, and health beliefs. Moreover, health belief has a mediating effect on the relation of social support, stroke knowledge, and health behavior.

Conclusion

Chinese high risk groups for stroke have a mediate level of health behaviors. Factors associated with health behaviors are knowledge of stroke, health beliefs, and social support. The COM-B-based model can be used to explain the health behavior of individuals at risk of stroke and to guide the formulation of effective health management programs.

Clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of patients living with HIV and co-infected with tuberculosis and histoplasmosis: a 5-y retrospective case series

BACKGROUND

In Latin America, tuberculosis (TB) and histoplasmosis are two of the most frequent opportunistic infections affecting people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, there are limited data on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with concurrent TB and histoplasmosis infections.

METHODS

This was a retrospective observational study to describe the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory characteristics and outcomes of 21 patients living with HIV (PLHIV) who were diagnosed with concurrent histoplasmosis and TB between 2017 and 2021 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

RESULTS

Most patients were male and were newly diagnosed with HIV. All patients had advanced HIV disease (AHD). They presented with a median CD4 count of 20 cells/µl. The most common symptoms reported by the patients were fever, weight loss, cough and diarrhoea. Twelve patients died within 6 months of baseline evaluation, for a mortality rate of 57.1%.

CONCLUSIONS

PLHIV with concurrent TB and histoplasmosis infections are characterised by AHD, predominantly presenting with disseminated forms of these infections and with unspecific symptoms and signs. This evidence calls for early HIV and opportunistic infection screening and insights into the challenges and opportunities for the efficient diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients with AHD with concurrent histoplasmosis and TB infections.

Treatment success rate and associated factors among drug susceptible tuberculosis individuals in St. Kizito Hospital, Matany, Napak district, Karamoja region. A retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death among infectious agents globally. An estimated 10 million people are newly diagnosed and 1.5 million die of the disease annually. Uganda is among the 30 high TB-burdenedd countries, with Karamoja having a significant contribution of the disease incidence in the country. Control of the disease in Karamoja is complex because a majority of the at-risk population remain mobile; partly because of the nomadic lifestyle. This study, therefore, aimed at describing the factors associated with drug-susceptible TB treatment success rate (TSR) in the Karamoja region.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study on case notes of all individuals diagnosed with and treated for drug-susceptible TB at St. Kizito Hospital Matany, Napak district, Karamoja from 1st Jan 2020 to 31st December 2021. Data were abstracted using a customised data abstraction tool. Data analyses were done using Stata statistical software, version 15.0. Chi-square test was conducted to compare treatment success rates between years 2020 and 2021, while Modified Poisson regression analysis was performed at multivariable level to determine the factors associated with treatment success.

RESULTS

We studied records of 1234 participants whose median age was 31 (IQR: 13-49) years. Children below 15 years of age accounted for 26.2% (n = 323). The overall treatment success rate for the study period was 79.3%(95%CI; 77.0%-81.5%), with a statistically significant variation in 2020 and 2021, 75.4% (422/560) vs 82.4% (557/674) respectively, (P = 0.002). The commonest reported treatment outcome was treatment completion at 52%(n = 647) and death was at 10.4% (n = 129). Older age, undernutrition (Red MUAC), and HIV-positive status were significantly associated with lower treatment success: aPR = 0.87(95%CI; 0.80-0.94), aPR = 0.91 (95%CI; 0.85-0.98) and aPR = 0.88 (95%CI; 0.78-0.98); respectively. Patients who were enrolled in 2021 had a high prevalence of treatment success compared to those enrolled in 2020, aPR = 1.09 (95%CI; 1.03-1.16).

CONCLUSION

TB TSR in Matany Hospital was suboptimal. Older age, poor nutrition, and being HIV-positive were negative predictors of treatment success. We propose integrating nutrition and HIV care into TB programming to improve treatment success.

Exploring health care providers' engagement in prevention and management of multidrug resistant Tuberculosis and its factors in Hadiya Zone health care facilities: qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Engagement of healthcare providers is one of the World Health Organization strategies devised for prevention and provision of patient centered care for multidrug resistant tuberculosis. The need for current research question rose because of the gaps in evidence on health professional's engagement and its factors in multidrug resistant tuberculosis service delivery as per the protocol in the prevention and management of multidrug resistant tuberculosis.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to explore the level of health care providers' engagement in multidrug resistant tuberculosis prevention and management and influencing factors in Hadiya Zone health facilities, Southern Ethiopia.

METHODS

Descriptive phenomenological qualitative study design was employed between 02 May and 09 May, 2019. We conducted a key informant interview and focus group discussions using purposely selected healthcare experts working as directly observed treatment short course providers in multidrug resistant tuberculosis treatment initiation centers, program managers, and focal persons. Verbatim transcripts were translated to English and exported to open code 4.02 for line-by-line coding and categorization of meanings into same emergent themes. Thematic analysis was conducted based on predefined themes for multidrug resistant tuberculosis prevention and management and core findings under each theme were supported by domain summaries in our final interpretation of the results. To maintain the rigors, Lincoln and Guba's parallel quality criteria of trustworthiness was used particularly, credibility, dependability, transferability, confirmability and reflexivity.

RESULTS

Total of 26 service providers, program managers, and focal persons were participated through four focus group discussion and five key informant interviews. The study explored factors for engagement of health care providers in the prevention and management of multidrug resistant tuberculosis in five emergent themes such as patients' causes, perceived susceptibility, seeking support, professional incompetence and poor linkage of the health care facilities. Our findings also suggest that service providers require additional training, particularly in programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

CONCLUSION

The study explored five emergent themes: patient's underlying causes, seeking support, perceived susceptibility, professionals' incompetence and health facilities poor linkage. Community awareness creation to avoid fear of discrimination through provision of support for those with multidrug resistant tuberculosis is expected from health care providers using social behavioral change communication strategies. Furthermore, program managers need to follow the recommendations of World Health Organization for engaging healthcare professionals in the prevention and management of multidrug resistant tuberculosis and cascade trainings in clinical programmatic management of the disease for healthcare professionals.

Differentiated service delivery framework for people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and HIV co-infection

INTRODUCTION

For people living with HIV/AIDS, care is commonly delivered through Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD). Although people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and HIV/AIDS experience severe treatment associated challenges, there is no DSD model to support their treatment. In this study, we defined patterns of medication adherence and characterized longitudinal barriers to inform development of an MDR-TB/HIV DSD framework.

METHODS

Adults with MDR-TB and HIV initiating bedaquiline (BDQ) and receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were enrolled and followed through the end of MDR-TB treatment. Electronic dose monitoring devices (EDM) measured BDQ and ART adherence. Longitudinal focus groups were conducted and transcripts analyzed thematically to describe discrete treatment stage-specific and cross-cutting treatment challenges.

RESULTS

283 participants were enrolled and followed through treatment completion (median 17.8 months [IQR 16.5-20.2]). Thirteen focus groups were conducted. Most participants (82.7%, 234/283) maintained high adherence (mean BDQ adherence 95.3%; mean ART adherence 85.5%), but an adherence-challenged subpopulation with <85% cumulative adherence (17.3%, 49/283) had significant declines in mean weekly BDQ adherence from 94.9% to 39.9% (p<0.0001) and mean weekly ART adherence from 83.9% to 26.6% (p<0.0001) over 6 months. Psychosocial, behavioral, and structural obstacles identified in qualitative data were associated with adherence deficits in discrete treatment stages, and identified potential stage specific interventions.

CONCLUSION

A DSD framework for MDR-TB/HIV should intensify support for adherence-challenged subpopulations, provide multi-modal support for adherence across the treatment course and account for psychosocial, behavioral, and structural challenges linked to discrete treatment stages.

Risk factors for poor engagement with a smart pillbox adherence intervention among persons on tuberculosis treatment in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Non-adherence to tuberculosis treatment increases the risk of poor treatment outcomes. Digital adherence technologies (DATs), including the smart pillbox (EvriMED), aim to improve treatment adherence and are being widely evaluated. As part of the Adherence Support Coalition to End TB (ASCENT) project we analysed data from a cluster-randomised trial of DATs and differentiated care in Ethiopia to examine individual-factors for poor engagement with the smart pillbox.

METHODS

Data were obtained from a cohort of trial participants with drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DS-TB) whose treatment started between 1 December 2020 and 1 May 2022, and who were using the smart pillbox. Poor engagement with the pillbox was defined as (i) > 20% days with no digital confirmation and (ii) the count of days with no digital confirmation, and calculated over a two evaluation periods (56-days and 168-days). Logistic random effects regression was used to model > 20% days with no digital confirmation and negative binomial random effects regression to model counts of days with no digital confirmation, both accounting for clustering of individuals at the facility-level.

RESULTS

Among 1262 participants, 10.8% (133/1262) over 56-days and 15.8% (200/1262) over 168-days had > 20% days with no digital confirmation. The odds of poor engagement was less among participants in the higher stratum of socio-economic position (SEP) over 56-days. Overall, 4,689/67,315 expected doses over 56-days and 18,042/199,133 expected doses over 168-days were not digitally confirmed. Compared to participants in the poorest SEP stratum, participants in the wealthiest stratum had lower rates of days not digitally confirmed over 168-days (adjusted rate ratio [RRa]:0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65, 0.96). In both evaluation periods (56-days and 168-days), HIV-positive status (RRa:1.29; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.63 and RRa:1.28; 95%CI: 1.07, 1.53), single/living independent (RRa:1.31; 95%CI: 1.03, 1.67 and RRa:1.38; 95%CI: 1.16, 1.64) and separated/widowed (RRa:1.40; 95%CI: 1.04, 1.90 and RRa:1.26; 95%CI: 1.00, 1.58) had higher rates of counts of days with no digital confirmation.

CONCLUSION

Poorest SEP stratum, HIV-positive status, single/living independent and separated/ widowed were associated with poor engagement with smart pillbox among people with DS-TB in Ethiopia. Differentiated care for these sub-groups may reduce risk of non-adherence to TB treatment.

Factors associated with treatment adherence among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in New Delhi

BACKGROUND

TB is treated with a six-month course of four antimicrobial drugs, and nearly all cases of TB can be cured if the medications are given and taken correctly. Due to its prolong treatment plans, there can be reasons associated with non-adherence to treatment by TB patients. Hence, the present study aimed to explore the factors associated with medication adherence among TB patients.

METHOD

A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among adult pulmonary tuberculosis patients enrolled under RNTCP (now NTEP) in New Delhi among 27 functional RNTCP districts. Around 200 TB patients who are enrolled in the Nikshay App and are also on treatment were considered. A structured questionnaire was prepared for the interview guide. Analysis was done using bivariate analysis, chi-square tests, and Fisher's exact tests.

RESULTS

Among the total participants, 173 (86.5%) were adherent and the remaining 27 (13.5%) participants were non-adherent. The majority of the participants (91%) said they were able to follow the routine to the DOTS center, and 9% said they find it difficult to report to the DOTS center as per their schedule. Only 12.35% of non-adherent participants were seen among those who get regular reminders from their families to take medicines, as compared to 18.42% among those who did not get regular reminders from their families. More than one-fourth of the participants (25.9%) who report not getting necessary motivation from healthcare providers were non-adherent. Motivation by healthcare workers to follow drug schedules was found statistically significant to treatment compliance with a P-value of 0.0422.

CONCLUSION

TB is a curable disease; this belief has turned out to be a motivational factor for patients suffering from this disease. Studies have shown that faith in the efficacy of treatment helps adherence to TB treatment while other studies describe how patient adherence was adversely affected by the belief that TB is incurable or the treatment is inefficient or that alternative treatment such as traditional medicine is better.

Barriers to and facilitators of populational adherence to prevention and control measures of COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases: a qualitative evidence synthesis

AIMS

To summarise the evidence on barriers to and facilitators of population adherence to prevention and control measures for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other respiratory infectious diseases.

METHODS

A qualitative synthesis was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis and the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care: Qualitative Evidence Synthesis. We performed an electronic search on MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO from their inception to March 2023.

RESULTS

We included 71 studies regarding COVID-19, pneumonia, tuberculosis, influenza, pertussis and H1N1, representing 5966 participants. The measures reported were vaccinations, physical distancing, stay-at-home policy, quarantine, self-isolation, facemasks, hand hygiene, contact investigation, lockdown, infection prevention and control guidelines, and treatment. Tuberculosis-related measures were access to care, diagnosis and treatment completion. Analysis of the included studies yielded 37 barriers and 23 facilitators.

CONCLUSIONS

This review suggests that financial and social support, assertive communication, trust in political authorities and greater regulation of social media enhance adherence to prevention and control measures for COVID-19 and infectious respiratory diseases. Designing and implementing effective educational public health interventions targeting the findings of barriers and facilitators highlighted in this review are key to reducing the impact of infectious respiratory diseases at the population level.

Perceptions and challenges among health care providers about HIV-TB co-infected children- A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Human immunodeficiency virus - Tuberculosis (HIV-TB) co-infected patients have a greater risk of mortality, treatment failure, and recurrence. The significant morbidity and mortality rates associated with tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infection in children cause concern. India aims to enhance the detection and treatment of HIV-TB cases in children and coordinate TB & HIV care.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the perceptions and challenges of health care providers regarding the diagnosis and treatment of Tuberculosis in HIV-TB co-infected children.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

In-depth interviews among 14 health care providers were conducted in ART centers of 5 talukas of Belagavi district to identify health care providers' perceptions and challenges regarding pediatric HIV-TB diagnosis and treatment. Interviews were conducted after receiving informed consent.

RESULTS

Challenges during HIV-TB diagnosis and treatment in children: difficult to get sputum sample for CBNAAT and child was unable to complain about symptoms, caregivers were not able to mention the signs/symptoms correctly, unavailability of a pediatrician in few Taluka ART centers, delay in receiving TB lab report, challenging to feed drugs to an infant, higher loss to follow-up, financial problem, distance from centers, low community awareness, poverty and illiteracy, stigma and death due to TB treatment default.

CONCLUSION

Efforts such as expanded health care providers, community education, and a constant supply of HIV rapid test kits are required to ensure successful diagnosis and treatment of HIV-TB co-infected children.

Long-acting Parenteral Drug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Chronic Diseases

The management of chronic conditions often requires patients to take daily medication for an extended duration. However, the need for daily dosing can lead to nonadherence to the therapy, which can result in the recurrence of the disease. Long-acting parenteral drug delivery systems have the potential to improve the treatment of chronic conditions. These systems use various technologies, such as oil-based injectables, PLGA-based microspheres, and in situ forming gel-based depots, to deliver different types of drugs. The use of long-acting parenteral formulations for the treatment of chronic infections such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis is a recent development in the field. Researchers are also exploring the use of long-acting parenteral formulations for the treatment of malaria, with the aim of reducing dosing frequency and improving adherence to treatment. This review discusses various aspects of long-acting formulation development, including the impact of the physicochemical properties of the drug, the type of long-acting formulation, and the route of administration. The clinical significance of long-acting formulations and recent advances in the field, such as long-acting nanoformulations and long-acting products currently in clinical trials, have also been highlighted.

Barriers and facilitators to maintaining a high level of polypharmacy adherence in people living with HIV: A scoping review

Objectives: With the prolongation of life span and increasing incidence of comorbidities, polypharmacy has become a challenge for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH). This review aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to maintaining a high level of polypharmacy adherence in people living with HIV/AIDS. Methods: Nine electronic databases were searched for studies from 1996 to October 2021. Studies were included if they were conducted with adults living with HIV/AIDS and reported barriers and facilitators to maintaining a high level of polypharmacy adherence. This review presents a conceptual framework model to help understand the barriers and facilitators. Results: Twenty-nine studies were included. The majority of publications were observational studies. Eighty specific factors were identified and further divided into five categories, including individual factors, treatment-related factors, condition-related factors, healthcare provider-related factors, and socioeconomic factors, based on the multidimensional adherence model (MAM). Conclusion: Eighty factors associated with polypharmacy adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS were identified and grouped into five major categories. Healthcare providers can make decisions based on the five categories of relevant factors described in this paper when developing interventions to enhance polypharmacy adherence. It is recommended that medications be evaluated separately and that an overall medication evaluation be conducted at the same time to prevent inappropriate polypharmacy use.

Identity management in the face of HIV and intersecting stigmas: A metasynthesis of qualitative reports from sub-Saharan Africa

While stigma experienced by people living with HIV (PLWH) is well documented, intersectional stigma and additional stigmatized identities have not received similar attention. The purpose of this metasynthesis is to identify salient stigmatized intersections and their impact on health outcomes in PLWH in sub-Saharan Africa. Using Sandelowski and Barroso's metasynthesis method, we searched four databases for peer-reviewed qualitative literature. Included studies (1) explored personal experiences with intersecting stigmas, (2) included ≥1 element of infectious disease stigma, and (3) were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. Our multinational team extracted, aggregated, interpreted, and synthesized the findings. From 454 screened abstracts, the 34 studies included in this metasynthesis reported perspectives of at least 1258 participants (282 men, 557 women, and 109 unspecified gender) and key informants. From these studies, gender and HIV was the most salient stigmatized intersection, with HIV testing avoidance and HIV-status denial seemingly more common among men to preserve traditional masculine identity. HIV did not threaten female identity in the same way with women more willing to test for HIV, but at the risk of abandonment and withdrawal of financial support. To guard against status loss, men and women used performative behaviors to highlight positive qualities or minimize perceived negative attributes. These identity management practices ultimately shaped health behaviors and outcomes. From this metasynthesis, the Stigma Identity Framework was devised for framing identity and stigma management, focusing on role expectation and fulfillment. This framework illustrates how PLWH create, minimize, or emphasize other identity traits to safeguard against status loss and discrimination. Providers must acknowledge how stigmatization disrupts PLWH's ability to fit into social schemas and tailor care to individuals' unique intersecting identities. Economic security and safety should be considered in women's HIV care, while highlighting antiretrovirals' role in preserving strength and virility may improve care engagement among men.

Understanding barriers to tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment completion in a low-resource setting: A mixed-methods study in the Kingdom of Lesotho

BACKGROUND

Lesotho is one of the 30 countries with the highest tuberculosis incidence rates in the world, estimated at 650 per 100,000 population. Tuberculosis case detection is extremely low, particularly with the rapid spread of COVID-19, dropping from an estimated 51% in 2020 to 33% in 2021. The aim of this study is to understand the barriers to tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment completion.

METHODS

We used a convergent mixed methods study design. We collected data on the number of clients reporting symptoms upon tuberculosis screening, their sputum test results, the number of clients diagnosed, and the number of clients who started treatment from one district hospital and one health center in Berea district, Lesotho. We conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 53 health workers and patients. We used a content analysis approach to analyze qualitative data and integrated quantitative and qualitative findings in a joint display.

FINDINGS

During March-August, 2019, 218 clients at the hospital and 292 clients at the health center reported tuberculosis symptoms. The full diagnostic testing process was completed for 66% of clients at the hospital and 68% at the health center. Among clients who initiated tuberculosis treatment, 68% (61/90) at the hospital and 74% (32/43) at the health center completed treatment. The main barriers to testing and treatment completion were challenges at sample collection, lack of decentralized diagnostic services, and socioeconomic factors such as food insecurity and high patient movement to search for jobs.

CONCLUSIONS

Tuberculosis diagnosis could be improved through the effective decentralization of laboratory services at the health facility level, and treatment completion could be improved by providing food and other forms of social support to patients.

Patient- and Health-System-Related Barriers to Treatment Adherence for Patients with Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Philippines: A Mixed-Methods Study

Purpose

In the Philippines, drug-resistant tuberculosis (DRTB) is a growing concern. Healthcare workers face challenges in retaining patients with DRTB in care. This study intends to understand their perspectives on the factors that influence patient treatment outcomes and to propose potential programmatic solutions for strengthening care services for the patients.

Methods

A mixed-methods study was conducted in the Philippines between December 2017 and March 2018 to understand the major barriers for healthcare workers to provide quality care to DRTB patients across the care continuum. In the quantitative phase, healthcare workers participated in an online survey; in the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with a select number of the survey respondents to better understand their survey responses.

Results

272 healthcare workers participated in the survey, and of those, 11 were interviewed. Survey results identified economic constraints, patient perceptions of care, family-related concerns, and limited accessibility to healthcare services as the major patient-related barriers across the care continuum. Major health-system-related barriers were insufficient human resources, lack of financial and political support, and limited knowledge about DRTB by healthcare providers. Interviews revealed more elaborate, contextualized, and nuanced aspects of each of the major challenges. The elaborated patient-related barriers included expenses needed during treatment (e.g., transportation); fear of being stigmatized by family, community, or healthcare staff; worries about adverse drug reactions from medication; a lack of family support; and the location of patients' homes. The health-system-related barriers revealed through interviews included the limited capacities of facility staff to provide DRTB care due to insufficient human resources; the shortage of funds to support treatment completion (e.g., transportation allowance and food package for patients, service vehicles and mobile phone costs for outreach actions at the facility level); and discrimination by healthcare staff against patients with DRTB attributed to the staff's limited knowledge and experiences of treating the patients.

Conclusion

This study identified the main barriers for DRTB facility staff in the Philippines from the perspectives of providers. Further exploration of the barriers and best practices in facilities may be useful for improving DRTB care in the Philippines.

Factors Influencing Treatment Adherence Among Drug-Sensitive Tuberculosis (DS-TB) Patients in Armenia: A Qualitative Study

Purpose

Despite the availability of effective treatment, tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the leading causes of mortality around the globe. Poor adherence to treatment challenges TB management both globally and locally. Proper adherence to treatment contributes to successful outcomes and prevents the development of drug-resistant forms of TB.

Patients and Methods

We conducted a qualitative study to identify and describe the factors that facilitated treatment adherence among drug-sensitive TB (DS-TB) patients in Armenia. Sixteen in-depth interviews (IDIs) with former DS-TB patients, two IDIs with family members of former DS-TB patients, and a focus group discussion with healthcare providers who manage DS-TB patients were conducted. The educational and ecological assessment component of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model was applied as a conceptual framework to guide the interview content and data analysis.

Results

Former patients' awareness of TB and its treatment, beliefs about TB, trust in TB healthcare providers, and a sense of responsibility were the most common factors that predisposed them to complete the treatment. Support received from providers, family, and friends, a desire to avoid TB-associated stigma, and good tolerance of TB medications were the main reinforcing factors. Enabling factors included a relatively simple regimen of TB treatment and accessibility and affordability of TB services.

Conclusion

The findings of the study provide new perspectives on factors that facilitate adherence to long-term therapies, such as TB. Interventions that aim to invoke a patient's sense of responsibility and positive beliefs about TB as well as engage families might promote the successful completion of treatment.

Prevalence and associated factors of tuberculosis among isoniazid users and non-users of HIV patients in Dessie, Ethiopia

Tuberculosis (TB) is major public health concern and Isoniazid Preventive Therapy (IPT) helps to prevent TB development among patients living with human immune deficiency virus (PLWHIV). However, the evidence is limited especially in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with TB among IPT users and non-IPT users of PLWHIV in Dessie, Ethiopia. A comparative cross-sectional study was employed for1 month in Dessie. A total of 326 respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were computed to identify factors associated with Tuberculosis. In multivariable analysis, AOR with 95% CI was used to declare statistically significant variables with TB. The prevalence of TB among non-IPT users was 48.5%, (95% CI 40.8-56.2%), and among IPT users was 8%, (95% CI 5-13%). Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis therapy (CPT) (AOR = 5.835, 95% CI 2.565-13.274), IPT (AOR = 10.359, 95% CI 4.054-26.472), ART adherence (AOR = 30.542, 95% CI 12.871-72.475), and believing that IPT use prevents TB (AOR = 0.093, 95% CI 0.018-0.484) were statistically significant factors. The prevalence of TB was higher among non-IPT users than among IPT users. Therefore, efforts should be strengthened to implement widespread use of IPT among adult PLWHIV.

The contribution of drug import to the cost of tuberculosis treatment: A cost analysis of longer, shorter, and short drug regimens for Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan

Tuberculosis (TB) programs depend on a continuous supply of large amounts of high-quality TB drugs. When TB programs procure TB drugs from international suppliers, such as the Global Drug Facility, they can incur import costs for international transport, customs clearance, and national transport. We assessed the drug costs and import costs of 18 longer (≥18 months), 10 shorter (9-12 months), and 8 short (≤6 months) drug regimens for drug-sensitive (DS) and multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB treatment. Costs per regimen were estimated by multiplying recommended drug amounts with 2021 Global Drug Facility prices and drug import costs of a TB program in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. The standard short-course treatment of DS-TB requires taking 730 fixed-dose combination tablets, which weigh 0.79 kg and cause an import cost of $4.19 (9.8% of the regimen's drug cost of $43). A new 4-month DS-TB regimen requires taking 1358 tablets, which weigh 1.1 kg and cause an import cost of $6.07 (2.6% of the regimen's drug cost of $233). MDR-TB regimens that last between 24 weeks and 20 months involve 546-9368 tablets and injections. The drugs for these MDR-TB regimens were estimated to weigh 0.42-96 kg and cause an import cost of $2.26-507 per drug regimen (0.29-11% of a regimen's drug cost of $360-15,028). In a multivariable regression analysis, an additional treatment month increased the import cost of a drug regimen by $5.45 (95% CI: 1.65 to 9.26). Use of an injectable antibiotic in a regimen increased the import cost by $133 (95% CI: 47 to 219). The variable and potentially sizable import costs of TB regimens can affect the financial needs of TB programs. Drug regimens that are shorter and all-oral tend to reduce import costs compared to longer regimens and regimens including an injectable drug.

Factores que afectan la cobertura del programa de tuberculosis en el primer nivel de atención en Honduras

Introducción. Hay consenso global en que el diagnóstico y el tratamiento precoces de la tuberculosis pueden acelerar su control y mitigar sus consecuencias. En Honduras, la tasa de mortalidad por la enfermedad aumentó gradualmente entre 2014 y 2018, a lo que se suman las reformas en el sistema de salud del 2014 y la implementación parcial de la estrategia “Fin a la TB”.Objetivo. Analizar las barreras y los elementos facilitadores del diagnóstico y el tratamiento que afectan la cobertura del programa nacional de tuberculosis, con el fin de brindar herramientas para la implementación efectiva de la estrategia “Fin a la TB” en San Pedro Sula, Honduras, 2015-2019.Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un estudio mixto secuencial y explicativo de pacientes mayores de 18 años con tuberculosis pulmonar positivos en la baciloscopia. Se revisaron las fichas de notificación de la enfermedad y las historias clínicas en dos establecimientos de salud de primer nivel y se hicieron entrevistas semiestructuradas al personal de salud, los pacientes y los familiares.Resultados. En el 74,6 % (297/398) de los casos no hubo diagnóstico oportuno. En este grupo, se encontró una mayor proporción de hombres (62,3 %; 185/297) y de adultos (80,8 %; 240/297); predominó un nivel de escolaridad inferior a la secundaria (53,7 %; 108/297); el 49,2 % (123/297) de los pacientes tenía alguna ocupación, y el 98,2 % había recibido tratamiento oportuno. Se detectaron las siguientes barreras: condiciones socioeconómicas precarias, desarticulación del sistema de salud público y privado, y límites fronterizos entre maras y pandillas. Los elementos facilitadores fueron la buena atención y la actitud del personal de salud, y la disponibilidad y reserva de tratamiento. Conclusiones. La falta de oportunidad en el diagnóstico de tuberculosis afectó la cobertura del programa nacional como resultado de las barreras culturales y de atención en salud.

Predictors of loss to follow-up among adult tuberculosis patients in Southern Ethiopia: a retrospective follow-up study

Background

Loss to follow-up (LTFU) from tuberculosis (TB) treatment and care is a major public health problem as patients can be infectious and also may develop a multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). The study aimed to assess whether LTFU differs by the distance TB patients travelled to receive care from the nearest health facility.

Methods

A total of 402 patient cards of TB patients who received care were reviewed from March 1–30, 2020. The Kaplan-Meir curve with the Log-rank test was used to compare differences in LTFU by the distance travelled to reach to the nearest health facility for TB care. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to identify predictors. All statistical tests are declared significant at a p-value< 0.05.

Results

A total of 37 patients were LTFU with the incidence rate of 11.26 per 1000 person-months of observations (PMOs) (95% CI: 8.15–15.53). The incidence rate ratio was 12.19 (95% CI: 5.01–35.73) among the groups compared (those who travelled 10 km or more versus those who travelled less than 10 km). Age ≥ 45 years (aHR = 7.71, 95% CI: 1.72, 34.50), educational status (primary schooling, aHR = 3.54, 95% CI: 1.49, 8.40; secondary schooling, aHR = 2.75, 95% CI: 1.08, 7.03), lack of family support (aHR = 2.80, 95% CI: 1.27, 6.19), nutritional support (aHR = 3.40, 95% CI:1.68, 6.89), ≥ 10 km distance to travel to a health facility (aHR = 6.06, 95% CI: 2.33, 15.81) had significantly predicted LTFU from TB treatment and care.

Conclusions

LTFU from adult TB care and treatment was 12 times higher among those who travelled ≥10 km to reach a health facility compared to those who travelled less. To retain adult TB patients in care and ensure appropriate treatment, health professionals and other stakeholders should give due attention to the factors that drive LTFU. We suggest identifying concerns of older patients at admission and those who travel long distance and establish social support platforms that could help people to complete TB treatment.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-13390-8.

Factors predicting self-report adherence (SRA) behaviours among DS-TB patients under the "Integrated model": a survey in Southwest China

BACKGROUND

China is one of 30 countries with a high tuberculosis (TB) burden, and poor adherence to TB treatment is one of the biggest challenges for TB control. We aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators of treatment adherence among drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DS-TB) patients under the "Integrated model" in Western China, to provide evidence-based treatment and control regimens for DS-TB patients to improve adherence behaviours.

METHODS

Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to explore the factors associated with self-reported adherence (SRA) behaviours. Questionnaire surveys with DS-TB patients and in-depth interviews with leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and community health sectors (CHCs), healthcare workers (HCWs) from CHCs, and DS-TB patients were conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 459 eligible patients were included in the quantitative survey, and two patients and 13 healthcare providers were included in the in-depth interviews. The percentage of patients who experienced a missed dose, lack of follow-up sputum examination, and interrupted treatment were 19.0%, 11.3%, and 9.2%, respectively. Patients aged 20-39 had a higher risk of missed dose [OR (95% CI): 2.302 (1.001-5.305)] and a lower risk of interrupted treatment [OR (95% CI): 0.278 (0.077-0.982)] than patients more than 60 years. Patients who were of Han ethnicity (OR [95% CI]: 0.524 [0.301-0.912]) received psychological support (OR [95% CI]: 0.379 [0.144-0.998]) from their family and had a lower risk of missed doses. Patients who had drug side effects had a higher risk of interrupted treatment (OR [95% CI]: 2.587 [1.237-5.412]). Patients who possessed higher knowledge had a lower risk of lack of follow-up sputum examination [OR (95% CI): 0.817 (0.673-0.991)]. The results of the qualitative study also reported that patients' poor TB knowledge was the main reason for their non-SRA behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient-centred strategies should be implemented to improve health literacy and strengthen psychological support. More effective case management should be designed and implemented based on different patient characteristics to improve adherence behaviours in further studies.

Complete sputum smear monitoring among adults with pulmonary tuberculosis in central Uganda: evidence from a retrospective cohort study

Background

People with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis require sputum smear monitoring at 2, 5, and 6 months to establish treatment outcomes. However, there is limited information about sputum smear monitoring in Uganda, similar to other developing countries. We examined factors associated with complete sputum smear monitoring among persons with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB aged ≥ 15 years in central Uganda.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed and abstracted data for persons with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB initiated on treatment between January 2017 and December 2019 across 11 large TB units in Masaka district in central Uganda. Complete sputum smear monitoring was measured as the receipt of three sputum smear microscopy tests at 2, 5, and 6 months of TB treatment. The data were summarized descriptively and the differences in the outcome with independent variables were examined using tests of statistical significance, namely the Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test and the student’s t-test. The factors independently associated with the outcome were established using the modified Poisson regression analysis with robust standard errors, reported as adjusted risk ratio (aRR) along with the 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results

A total of 416 participants were enrolled, with a mean age of 37.3 ± 12.9 years. Of the participants, 290 (69.7) were males, 269 (64.7) were rural residents, and 128 (30.8%) had complete sputum smear monitoring. Urban residence (aRR, 1.45; 95% CI 1.12–1.90) and treatment under the community-based directly observed therapy short-course strategy (DOTS) (aRR, 1.91; 95% CI 1.25–2.92) were associated with a higher likelihood of complete sputum smear monitoring while TB and human immunodeficiency virus (TB/HIV) comorbidity (aRR 0.45, 95% CI 0.30–0.68) was associated with a lower likelihood of complete sputum smear monitoring.

Conclusions

We found a low magnitude of complete sputum smear monitoring among persons with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB aged ≥ 15 years in central Uganda. Strategies to enhance the performance of sputum smear monitoring should target rural health facilities, strengthen TB/HIV collaboration and the implementation of community-based DOTS.

Risk factors for early TB treatment interruption among newly diagnosed patients in Malaysia

TB treatment interruption has resulted in delayed sputum conversion, drug resistance, and a high mortality rate and a prolonged treatment course, hence leading to economic and psychosocial affliction. To date, there are limited studies investigating the physico-social risk factors for early treatment interruptions. This prospective multicenter cohort study aimed to investigate the risk factors for early treatment interruption among new pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) smear-positive patients in Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 439 participants were recruited from 39 public treatment centres, 2018–2019. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed to analyse the risk factors for early treatment interruption. Of 439 participants, 104 (23.7%) had early treatment interruption, with 67.3% of early treatment interruption occurring in the first month of treatment. Being a current smoker and having a history of hospitalization, internalized stigma, low TB symptoms score, and waiting time spent at Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course centre were risk factors for early treatment interruption. An appropriate treatment adherence strategy is suggested to prioritize the high-risk group with high early treatment interruption. Efforts to quit smoking cessation programs and to promote stigma reduction interventions are crucial to reduce the probability of early treatment interruption.

Reframing Intersectional Stigma for a South African Context Integrating Tuberculosis, HIV and Poverty Stigmas

ABSTRACT

Intersectionality is closely intertwined with Black feminism within the context of the United States. As a result, intersectionality is often overlooked in non-Western contexts where racial homogeneity may reduce some of the impact of race on marginalization. This article will look at intersectional stigma from the South African context using the tuberculosis/HIV (TB/HIV) treatment environment in South Africa to exemplify intersectionality's versatility as an analytic method outside of the United States. We will use colonial history and contemporary research to reframe intersectionality considering a new set of stigmatized identities, including HIV stigma, TB stigma, and poverty stigma, to create a situation-specific framework adapted from a model by Bulent Turan and colleagues.

Risk factors for non-adherence among people with HIV-associated TB in Karnataka, India: A case-control study

SETTING

Five select districts of Karnataka, India, providing anti-tubercular and antiretroviral therapy (ATT and ART) to people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - associated Tuberculosis (TB) through a single window care approach at the ART centres (seven ART centres and 16 link ART centres).

OBJECTIVES

To determine the factors associated with non-adherence to concurrent therapy.

DESIGN

We conducted a case-control study involving primary and secondary data collection. Starting January 2019, we consecutively enrolled people on at least three months of ATT until we enrolled 125 cases (non-adherent to concurrent therapy) and 375 controls (adherent to concurrent therapy). Adherence was defined as taking >95% ART doses and >90% ATT doses, every month over the last three months. We performed multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with non-adherence.

RESULTS

The mean age of the cases and control was similar: 39.8 (standard deviation: 8.8) years. The risk factors for non-adherence were status non-disclosure (aOR = 2.06), zidovudine-based ART (aOR = 4.87), >3 side effects (aOR = 6.45), not receiving counselling before ATT initiation (aOR = 5.25) and non-receipt of co-trimoxazole prophylaxis (aOR = 9.90).

CONCLUSION

Major determinants for non-adherence were clinical and treatment related factors.

Risk Factors for Poor Outcomes Among Patients with Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB): A Scoping Review

In recent years, there has been an upsurge in cases of drug-resistant TB, and strains of TB resistant to all forms of treatment have begun to emerge; the highest level of resistance is classified as extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). There is an urgent need to prevent poor outcomes (death/default/failed treatment) of XDR-TB, and knowing the risk factors can inform such efforts. The objective of this scoping review was to therefore identify risk factors for poor outcomes among XDR-TB patients. We searched three scientific databases, PubMed, Scopus, and ProQuest, and identified 25 articles that examined relevant risk factors. Across the included studies, the proportion of patients with poor outcomes ranged from 8.6 to 88.7%. We found that the most commonly reported risk factor for patients with XDR-TB developing poor outcomes was having a history of TB. Other risk factors were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a history of incarceration, low body mass, being a smoker, alcohol use, unemployment, being male, and being middle-aged. Knowledge and understanding of the risk factors associated with poor outcomes of XDR-TB can help policy makers and organizations in the process of designing and implementing effective programs.

Acceptance of an Informational Antituberculosis Chatbot Among Korean Adults: Mixed Methods Research

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly infectious disease. Negative perceptions and insufficient knowledge have made its eradication difficult. Recently, mobile health care interventions, such as an anti-TB chatbot developed by the research team, have emerged in support of TB eradication programs. However, before the anti-TB chatbot is deployed, it is important to understand the factors that predict its acceptance by the population.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the acceptance of an anti-TB chatbot that provides information about the disease and its treatment to people vulnerable to TB in South Korea. Thus, we are investigating the factors that predict technology acceptance through qualitative research based on the interviews of patients with TB and homeless facility personnel. We are then verifying the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and predicting the factors associated with the acceptance of the chatbot.

METHODS

In study 1, we conducted interviews with potential chatbot users to extract the factors that predict user acceptance and constructed a conceptual framework based on the TAM. In total, 16 interviews with patients with TB and one focus group interview with 10 experts on TB were conducted. In study 2, we conducted surveys of potential chatbot users to validate the extended TAM. Survey participants were recruited among late-stage patients in TB facilities and members of web-based communities sharing TB information. A total of 123 responses were collected.

RESULTS

The results indicate that perceived ease of use and social influence were significantly predictive of perceived usefulness (P=.04 and P<.001, respectively). Perceived usefulness was predictive of the attitude toward the chatbot (P<.001), whereas perceived ease of use (P=.88) was not. Behavioral intention was positively predicted by attitude toward the chatbot and facilitating conditions (P<.001 and P=.03, respectively). The research model explained 55.4% of the variance in the use of anti-TB chatbots. The moderating effect of TB history was found in the relationship between attitude toward the chatbot and behavioral intention (P=.01) and between facilitating conditions and behavioral intention (P=.02).

CONCLUSIONS

This study can be used to inform future design of anti-TB chatbots and highlight the importance of services and the environment that empower people to use the technology.

Effect of mHealth intervention for pulmonary tuberculosis self-management based on the Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change (ITHBC): a randomized controlled trial (Preprint)

Background

Improving the health self-management level of patients with tuberculosis (TB) is significant for reducing drug resistance, improving the cure rate, and controlling the prevalence of TB. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions based on behavioral science theories may be promising to achieve this goal.

Objective

This study aims to explore and conduct an mHealth intervention based on the Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change (ITHBC) in patients with pulmonary TB to increase their ability of self-care management.

Methods

A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted from May to November 2020. A total of 114 patients who were admitted consecutively to the TB clinic of Harbin Chest Hospital, China from May 2020 to August 2020 were recruited by convenience sampling. Patients were divided into the control group and intervention group, and all received a 3-month intervention. Patients in the intervention group and the control group received routine medical and nursing care in the TB clinic, including the supervision of their medications. In addition, pharmacist-assisted mHealth (WeChat) intervention based on the ITHBC theory about TB management was provided to the intervention group. The primary outcome was self-management behavior, while the secondary outcomes were TB awareness, self-efficacy, social support, and degree of satisfaction with health education. The outcomes were measured using web-based self-designed and standard questionnaires administered at baseline and at the end point of the study. Intergroup data were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test, whereas intragroup data were assessed with the Wilcoxon test (for paired samples).

Results

A total of 112 patients (59 in intervention group and 53 in control group) completed the study. After the intervention, a statistically significant increase was noted in the scores of each item of self-care management behaviors compared with the scores at the baseline (P<.001) in the intervention group. The scores of all self-care management behaviors of the control group were lower than those of all self-care management behaviors in the intervention group (all P<.05), except for the item “cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing” (P=.23) and item “wash hands properly” (P=.60), which had no statistically significant difference from those in the intervention group. Compared with those at baseline, TB knowledge awareness, self-efficacy, social support, and degree of satisfaction with health education in the intervention group increased significantly (P<.001), and the intervention group had significantly higher scores than the control group (P<.001).

Conclusions

mHealth intervention for TB self-management based on ITHBC could deepen the understanding of patients with TB about their disease and improve their objective initiative and self-care management behaviors, which were beneficial for promoting compliance behavior and quality of prevention and control for pulmonary TB.

Trial Registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2200055557; https://tinyurl.com/4ray3xnw

Barriers and facilitators of nutrition assessment, counseling, and support for tuberculosis patients: a qualitative study

Background

Nutrition has a substantial role in the prevention, treatment, and cure of tuberculosis. Thus, nutrition assessment, counseling, and support (NACS) have been implemented as part of tuberculosis treatment. However, evidence on the barriers and facilitators (enablers) of its implementation is lacking.

Objective

To explore barriers and facilitators of implementation of NACS for tuberculosis patients.

Methods

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in public health facilities and health offices of Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia. We conducted 17 interviews using purposively selected key informants comprising health professionals (n = 12) and tuberculosis patients (n = 5). Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded and analyzed using a thematic approach in ATLAS.ti 7 software.

Results

Barriers were identified at three levels -organization, care provider, and patient levels. Suboptimal nutritional supply, lack of supportive supervision, lack of adequate workforce, staff turn-over, the sudden withdrawal of partners, and weak link with social service were the barriers at the organization level. Lack of commitment was reported as the only barrier at the care provider level, and socioeconomic status of patients, sharing and selling of supplies, perceived improved status, and perceived stigma were identified as the major barriers for the implementation of nutrition assessment, counseling, and support service. While training, availability of measurement and educational tools, the inclusion of nutrition indicators in the tuberculosis register, and the presence of collaborating partners were identified as facilitators at the organizational level. Patients’ motivation to know their health status was reported to be a facilitator at the patient level.

Conclusions

Organization, care provider, and patient-level barriers and facilitators were found to influence the implementation of NACS. Hence, multilevel factors should be considered to successfully implement the program and to gain its potential impact.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40795-021-00463-x.

Barriers and facilitators to accessing tuberculosis care in Nepal: a qualitative study to inform the design of a socioeconomic support intervention

OBJECTIVE

Psychosocial and economic (socioeconomic) barriers, including poverty, stigma and catastrophic costs, impede access to tuberculosis (TB) services in low-income countries. We aimed to characterise the socioeconomic barriers and facilitators of accessing TB services in Nepal to inform the design of a locally appropriate socioeconomic support intervention for TB-affected households.

DESIGN

From August 2018 to July 2019, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study consisting of semistructured focus group discussions (FGDs) with purposively selected multisectoral stakeholders. The data were managed in NVivo V.12, coded by consensus and analysed thematically.

SETTING

The study was conducted in four districts, Makwanpur, Chitwan, Dhanusha and Mahottari, which have a high prevalence of poverty and TB.

PARTICIPANTS

Seven FGDs were conducted with 54 in-country stakeholders, grouped by stakeholders, including people with TB (n=21), community stakeholders (n=13) and multidisciplinary TB healthcare professionals (n=20) from the National TB Programme.

RESULTS

The perceived socioeconomic barriers to accessing TB services were: inadequate TB knowledge and advocacy; high food and transportation costs; income loss and stigma. The perceived facilitators to accessing TB care and services were: enhanced championing and awareness-raising about TB and TB services; social protection including health insurance; cash, vouchers and/or nutritional allowance to cover food and travel costs; and psychosocial support and counselling integrated with existing adherence counselling from the National TB Programme.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that support interventions that integrate TB education, psychosocial counselling and expand on existing cash transfer schemes would be locally appropriate and could address the socioeconomic barriers to accessing and engaging with TB services faced by TB-affected households in Nepal. The findings have been used to inform the design of a socioeconomic support intervention for TB-affected households. The acceptability, feasibility and impact of this intervention on TB-related costs, stigma and TB treatment outcomes, is now being evaluated in a pilot implementation study in Nepal.

Dual pH-Responsive Macrophage-Targeted Isoniazid Glycoparticles for Intracellular Tuberculosis Therapy

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global epidemic that kills over a million people every year, particularly in low-resource communities. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the most common bacterium that causes TB, is difficult to treat, particularly in its latent phase, in part due to its ability to survive and replicate within the host macrophage. New therapeutic approaches resulting in better tolerated and shorter antibiotic courses that target intracellular bacteria are critical to effective treatment. The development of a novel, pH-responsive, mannosylated nanoparticle, covalently linked with isoniazid, a first-line TB antibiotic, is presented. This nanoparticle drug delivery agent has increased macrophage uptake and, upon exposure to the acidic phagolysosome, releases isoniazid through hydrolysis of a hydrazone bond, and disintegrates into a linear polymer. Full antibiotic activity is shown to be retained, with mannosylated isoniazid particles being the only treatment exhibiting complete bacterial eradication of intracellular bacteria, compared to an equivalent PEGylated system and free isoniazid. Such a system, able to effectively kill intracellular mycobacteria, holds promise for improved outcomes in TB infection.

Rate of treatment success and associated factors in the program for drug-susceptible tuberculosis in the Forest Region, Republic of Guinea, 2010-2017: A real-world retrospective observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the treatment success rate (TSR = sum of cured or treatment completed) in the tuberculosis (TB) program for drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB) at the "Centre Hospitalier Régional Spécialisé" in Macenta, Forest Region, Republic of Guinea.

METHODS

This cohort study included patients who started treatment for DS-TB between 2010 and 2017. Data collection was part of the documentation for the national TB program. Descriptive analysis was applied to determine the TSR in various patient groups. Further, logistic regression was performed to determine factors influencing the TSR in new and relapsed cases versus all other previously treated cases. A subgroup analysis for only microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB was added.

RESULTS

The study included 3969 patients. The TSR increased from 68.3% in 2010 to 80.8% in 2017 (p < 0.001). Mortality (11.2%) mainly occurred in early treatment months, while loss to follow-up (5.9%) increased towards later treatment months. Risk factors for low TSR were advanced age, positive HIV status, long travel distances (>100 km) to the clinic, and late treatment refill.

CONCLUSION

The TSR in the Forest Region of Guinea remained below the WHO goal of 90%. Reaching this target remains a challenge in rural areas with high early mortality and increased risk of loss to follow-up.

Tuberculosis Treatment Outcome in Patients with TB-HIV Coinfection in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious health threat to people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This study aimed to identify the characteristics, unsuccessful TB treatment rate, and determinants of unsuccessful TB treatment outcome among patients with TB-HIV coinfection in Kuala Lumpur.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study. The data of all patients with TB-HIV in the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur from 2013 to 2017 were collected and reviewed. The data were retrieved from the national database (TB Information System) at the Kuala Lumpur Health Department from 1 March 2018 to 31 May 2018.

Results

Out of 235 randomly selected patients with TB-HIV, TB treatment outcome was successful in 57.9% (cured and completed treatment) and unsuccessful in 42.1% (died, failed, or lost to follow-up). Patients who did not receive DOTS (directly observed treatment, short course) (adjusted odds ratio: 21.71; 95% confidence interval: 5.36–87.94) and those who received shorter treatment duration of <6 months (aOR: 34.54; 95% CI: 5.97–199.93) had higher odds for unsuccessful TB treatment outcome.

Conclusions

Nearly half of the patients with TB-HIV had unsuccessful TB treatment outcome. Therefore, it is important to ensure that such patients receive DOTS and continuous TB treatment of >6 months. It is crucial to strengthen and widen the coverage of DOTS, especially among high-risk groups, in healthcare settings. Strict follow-up by healthcare providers is needed for patients with TB-HIV to gain treatment adherence and for better rates of successful TB treatment.

Predictors of failure on second-line antiretroviral therapy with protease inhibitor mutations in Uganda

Introduction

Failure on second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) with protease inhibitor (PI) mutations (VF-M) is on the rise. However, there is a paucity of information on the factors associated with this observation in low-income countries. Knowledge of underlying factors is critical if we are to minimize the number of PLHIV switched to costly third-line ART. Our study investigated the factors associated with VF-M.

Methods

We conducted a matched case–control analysis of patients' records kept at the Joint Clinical Research Center, starting from January 2008 to May 2018. We matched records of patients who failed the second-line ART with major PI mutations (cases) with records of patients who were virologically suppressed (controls) by a ratio of 1:3. Data analysis was conducted using STATA Version 14. Categorical variables were compared with the outcomes

failure on second-line ART with PI mutations using the Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests where appropriate. Conditional logistic regression for paired data was used to assess the association between the outcome and exposure variables, employing the backward model building procedure.

Results

Of the 340 reviewed patients' records, 53% were women, and 6.2% had previous tuberculosis treatment. Males (aOR = 2.58, [CI 1.42–4.69]), and patients concurrently on tuberculosis treatment while on second-line ART (aOR = 5.65, [CI 1.76–18.09]) had higher odds of VF-M. ART initiation between 2001 and 2015 had lower odds of VF-M relative to initiation before the year 2001.

Conclusion

Males and patients concomitantly on tuberculosis treatment while on second-line ART are at a higher risk of VF-M. HIV/AIDS response programs should give special attention to this group of people if we are to minimize the need for expensive third-line ART. We recommend more extensive, explorative studies to ascertain underlying factors.

Preference of inhalants over pills/injections among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Western India: A cross-sectional study

•

India shares the highest burden of TB & MDR-TB cases in the world.

•

Currently, pills/injections are two modes of treatment available for TB patients.

•

Inhalants could be preferred and acceptable drug delivery method among TB patients.

•

Exploration of diverse drug delivery options for TB patients is recommended.

Background

Presently, pills and injections are the two modes of therapeutic treatment available for tuberculosis (TB) patients. Many researchers have hypothesized inhalation drug delivery for reducing treatment times and possibly limiting the insurgence of drug resistance. This study was aimed at identifying and assessing the preferences of inhalation therapy over injections/pills among pulmonary TB patients.

Method

Cross-sectional study design was used and a sample of 477 participants were recruited at selected three Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) centers in Bhiwandi city. Data was collected through self-reported questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were reported, and binomial regression models were applied for data analysis.

Results

The preference of inhalants over pills/injections among pulmonary TB patients was significantly associated with clinical characteristics. The patients who underwent treatment for more than 1 year were 1.7 times more likely to prefer inhalants over pills/injections when compared with treatment duration of less than 1 year. Similarly, patients taking five or more pills/day were 1.7 times more likely to prefer inhalants over pills/injections when compared with patients taking 1–4 pills per day.

Conclusion

The study results signify that inhalants could be an acceptable method of drug delivery in this population of TB patients. Diverse drug delivery options for TB patients may greatly contribute towards TB treatment adherence.

Knowledge about tuberculosis, treatment adherence and outcome among ambulatory patients with drug-sensitive tuberculosis in two directly-observed treatment centres in Southwest Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide. Although TB is curable provided the treatment commenced quickly, appropriately and uninterrupted throughout TB treatment duration. However, high default rate, treatment interruption and therapy non-adherence coupled with inadequate disease knowledge significantly contribute to poor TB treatment outcome, especially in developing countries. This study therefore assessed knowledge about TB and possible reasons for treatment non-adherence among drug-sensitive TB (DS-TB) patients, as well as evaluated treatment outcomes for the DS-TB managed within a 5-year period.

METHODS

A mixed-method design comprising a cross-sectional questionnaire-guided survey among 140-ambulatory DS-TB patients from January-March 2019, and a retrospective review of medical-records of DS-TB managed from 2013 to 2017 in two WHO-certified TB directly-observed-treatment centres. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics, while categorical variables were evaluated with Chi-square at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

Among the prospective DS-TB patients, males were 77(55.0%) and females were 63(45.0%). Most (63;45.0%) belonged to ages 18-34 years. A substantial proportion knew that TB is curable (137;97.9%) and transmittable (128;91.4%), while 107(46.1%) accurately cited coughing without covering the mouth as a principal mode of transmission. Only 10(4.0%) mentioned adherence to TB medications as a measure to prevent transmission. Inaccessibility to healthcare facility (33;55.0%) and pill-burden (10,16.7%) were topmost reasons for TB treatment non-adherence. Of the 2262-DS-TB patients whose treatment outcomes were evaluated, 1211(53.5%) were cured, 580(25.6%) had treatment completed, 240(10.6%) defaulted, 54(2.3%) failed treatment and 177(7.8%) died. Overall, the treatment success rate within the 5-year period ranged from 77.4 to 81.9%.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowledge about TB among the prospective DS-TB patients is relatively high, especially with respect to modes of TB transmission and preventive measures, but a sizeable number lacks the understanding of ensuring optimal TB medication-adherence to prevent TB transmission. Inaccessibility to healthcare facility largely accounts for treatment non-adherence. Outcomes of treatment within the 5-year period show that nearly half were cured, while almost one-tenth died. Overall treatment success rate is about 12% below the WHO-defined target. There is generally a need for concerned stakeholders to step-up efforts in ensuring consistent TB enlightenment, while improving access to TB care is essential for better treatment outcome.

Treatment outcomes of drug susceptible Tuberculosis in private health facilities in Lagos, South-West Nigeria

Background

The Lagos State Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer, and Leprosy Control Program (LSTBLCP) started engaging private hospitals under the Public-Private Mix (PPM) Program in 2008. The study aimed to evaluate the trend and predictors of successful Tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes of patients managed across these private health facilities between 2010–2016 in Lagos, Nigeria.

Methods

Retrospective review of TB treatment register and treatment cards of patients commenced on TB treatment between January 2010 and December 2016 in 36 private health facilities engaged by the LSTBLCP. Between December 2016 and February 2017, data were collected and entered into Microsoft Excel by trained data entry clerks. The analysis was done using SPSS software. Independent predictors of successful treatment outcomes were determined using multivariate analysis at the statistical significance of p<0.05 and 95% confidence interval.

Results

A total of 1660 records of TB patients were reviewed. 1535 (92.47%) commenced treatment, while 1337 (87.10%) of all records had documented treatment outcomes. Of the 1337 patients with outcomes, 1044 (78.09%) had a successful treatment outcome, and 293 (21.91%) had an unsuccessful outcome. Majority were male, 980 (59.04%), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) negative status, 1295 (80.24%), diagnosed with smear, 1141 (73.14%), treated in private not-for-profit (PNFP) hospital, 1097 (66.08%), treated for TB between 2014–2016 (18.96%-19.52%). In multivariate analysis, age>20years (aOR = 0.26, p = 0.001), receiving TB treatment in 2013 (aOR = 0.39, p = 0.001), having genexpert for TB diagnosis (aOR = 0.26, p = 0.031) and being HIV positive (aOR = 0.37, p = 0.001) significantly reduced likelihood of successful treatment outcome. The site of TB, being on ART or CPT, were confounding determinants of successful treatment outcomes as they became non-significant at the multivariate analysis level.

Conclusion

Treatment outcome among Lagos private hospitals was low compared with NTBLCP and World Health Organization (WHO) target. We urge the government and TB stakeholders to strengthen the PPM interventions to improve adherence, particularly among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and older TB patients. Hence, promotion of early care-seeking, improving diagnostic and case holding efficiencies of health facilities, and TB/HIV collaborative interventions can reduce the risk of an unsuccessful outcome.

Tuberculosis drug safety and pharmacovigilance in health system of Kosova: A cross-sectional analysis

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant worldwide social and life-threatening epidemiological problem. Because this disease requires multiple drug treatment and prolonged therapy for several months, followed by a high probability of adverse effects (AEs), we assessed AE monitoring for anti-TB drugs in the Health Care System of Kosova.

METHODS

This survey was a cross-sectional analysis performed at the primary, secondary and tertiary health care levels in Kosova. We included 930 registered tuberculosis patients within three levels of this health system in our study. Furthermore, we interviewed 62 physicians and 71 nurses at TB health facilities. Data were collected from official TB registers and personal contact with patients for 12 months.

RESULTS

The representative age group was 19 to 29 years (30.49%), followed by a group of patients aged >60 years (23.23%). Among 930 patients treated with TB drugs, the total incidence of adverse AEs was 29.03%. Female TB patients had a higher rate of AEs than did male patients (33.56% vs 28.84%, respectively). The highest incidence of registered AEs was recorded in the gastrointestinal system (270, 80.83%), followed by the central nervous system (CNS, 7.50%) and was lower in other organ systems. The reporting of anti-TB drug effects by medical staff (TB medical doctor and TB medical nurse) at different levels of TB medical settings occurred among 62.90% of medical doctors and 81.69% of nurses. Only 53.23% of medical doctors and 46.48% of nurses completed pharmacovigilance training.

CONCLUSION

The pharmacovigilance approach in Health System of Kosova is not comprehensible and not systematic. The relatively low incidence of AEs among TB patients is due under reporting of these by medical staff. The knowledge, attitudes, and adherence of medical staff reveal low awareness for pharmacovigilance activities, and this concern should be addressed to reinforce this important issue for the safe treatment of TB patients.

Factors Influencing Patient Adherence to Tuberculosis Treatment in Ethiopia: A Literature Review

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global public health problem and one of the leading causes of death among infectious diseases. Although TB can be cured with first-line antibiotics treatment of 6 months regimen, non-adherence to the treatment remains the main challenge for TB prevention and control. Interventions to promote adherence need to address multiple underlying factors linked to non-adherence, which requires a synthesis of studies to understand these factors in the local context. Our review accordingly examines these factors for TB treatment in Ethiopia. Methods: Articles were searched from PubMed and ScienceDirect databases, as well as manual searches through Google and Google Scholar search engines. Both quantitative and qualitative studies that showed factors associated with or reasons for non-adherence, default or loss to follow up from TB treatment were included. A total of 276 articles were screened, and 29 articles were ultimately included in the review. Findings: The extracted factors were synthesized thematically into seven dimensions of patient-centred, social, economic, health system, therapy, lifestyle, and geographic access factors. More than 20 distinct factors were identified under these headings. Some of these factors may also apply quite widely in other settings, with greater or lesser influence, but some are particularly applicable to the Ethiopian setting. Conclusion: Helping patients to achieve full adherence to TB medication is a complex problem as it is influenced by interplay between many factors. Healthcare managers, providers, and researchers need to consider and address multiple underlying factors when designing adherence interventions. This work provides a reference set of such factors for Ethiopian interventions.

A psychological investigation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in mobile cabin hospitals in Wuhan

Background

This study investigated the depression, anxiety, and insomnia levels of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients admitted to two mobile cabin hospitals in Jianghan District (Wuhan, China).

Methods

Thirty COVID-19 (eight mild type and twenty-two common type) patients were evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 Questionnaire, the Insomnia Severity Index, and a semi-structured interview.

Results

All 30 patients reported varying degrees of anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The levels of depression and anxiety in mild type COVID-19 patients were significantly lower than those in common type COVID-19 patients. Significant improvements in depression (P<0.001) and anxiety (P<0.001) levels were found in the COVID-19 patients at the second evaluation compared with the baseline (admittance to hospital). More than 80% patients agreed that medical security, support from other patients, and a better living environment were the main reasons for improvements to their adverse psychological states.

Conclusions

Varying degrees of anxiety, depression, and insomnia frequently occur in patients with COVID-19. Standard treatment protocols and patient-centered care in the mobile cabin hospitals in this study provided the chance for COVID-19 patients to successfully improve their mental health during the outbreak of the pandemic.

The prevention and control of tuberculosis: an analysis based on a tuberculosis dynamic model derived from the cases of Americans

Background

Tuberculosis (TB), a preventable and curable disease, is claimed as the second largest number of fatalities, and there are 9,025 cases reported in the United States in 2018. Many researchers have done a lot of research and achieved remarkable results, but TB is still a severe problem for human beings. The study is a further exploration of the prevention and control of tuberculosis.

Methods

In the paper, we propose a new dynamic model to study the transmission dynamics of TB, and then use global differential evolution and local sequential quadratic programming (DESQP) optimization algorithm to estimate parameters of the model. Finally, we use Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) and partial rank correlation coefficients (PRCC) to analyze the influence of parameters on the basic reproduction number (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\mathcal R_{0}$\end{document}R0) and the total infectious (including the diagnosed, undiagnosed and incomplete treatment infectious), respectively.

Results

According to the research, the basic reproduction number is computed as 2.3597 from 1984 to 2018, which means TB is also an epidemic in the US. The diagnosed rate is 0.6082, which means the undiagnosed will be diagnosed after 1.6442 years. The diagnosed will recover after an average of 1.9912 years. Moreover, some diagnosed will end the treatment after 1.7550 years for some reason. From the study, it’s shown that 2.40% of the recovered will be reactivated, and 13.88% of the newborn will be vaccinated. However, the immune system will be lost after about 19.6078 years.

Conclusion

Through the results of this study, we give some suggestions to help prevent and control the TB epidemic in the United States, such as prolonging the protection period of the vaccine by developing new and more effective vaccines to prevent TB; using the Chemoprophylaxis for incubation patients to prevent their conversion into active TB; raising people’s awareness of the prevention and control of TB and treatment after illness; isolating the infected to reduce the spread of TB. According to the latest report in the announcement that came at the first WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending tuberculosis in the Sustainable Development Era, we predict that it is challenging to control TB by 2030.

The social implications of participant choice on adherence to Isonaizid Preventive Therapy (IPT): A follow-up study to high completion rates in Eswatini

BACKGROUND

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) has one of the highest rates of TB and HIV co-disease in the world. Despite national efforts to improve service delivery and prevent TB and HIV transmission, rates remain high. A recent prospective, observational study of integrated, patient-selected IPT delivery showed extraordinary improvements in IPT adherence, running counter to previous assumptions. This prompted the need to understand contextual and unseen study factors that contributed to high rates of adherence.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate high rates of IPT adherence rates among people living with HIV who participated in an observational study comparing modes of IPT delivery.

METHODS

Community-based participatory research guided the development of in-person administration of semi-structured questionnaires. Observational and field note data were analyzed. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

RESULTS

We interviewed 150 participants and analyzed responses from the 136 who remembered being given a choice of their IPT delivery method. Fifty-seven percent were female and the median age was 42. Nearly 67% of participants chose to receive facility-based IPT. High rates of self-reported IPT treatment adherence were linked to four key concepts: 1) adherence was positively impacted by community education; 2) disclosure of status served to empower participant completion; 3) mode of delivery perceptions positively impacted adherence; and 4) choice of treatment delivery seen as helpful but not essential for treatment completion.

DISCUSSION

Achieving higher rates of IPT adherence in Eswatini and similar rural areas requires community-engaged education and outreach in coordination with care delivery systems.

Treatment success and mortality among adults with tuberculosis in rural eastern Uganda: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Successful treatment of tuberculosis leads to clinical and public health benefits such as reduction in transmission, complications, and mortality among patients. However, data are limited on treatment outcomes and the associated factors among persons with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary (BC-PTB) in rural areas of high dual tuberculosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) burden countries such as Uganda. We investigated factors associated with successful treatment of tuberculosis and mortality among adult persons with BC-PTB in rural eastern Uganda.

Methods

We constructed a retrospective cohort of persons with BC-PTB from a routine tuberculosis clinic database in eastern Uganda. We performed bivariate and multivariate analysis. Using a 5% level of significance, we ran a modified Poisson regression analysis to determine factors independently associated with treatment success and mortality rates.

Results

We retrieved 1123 records for persons with BC-PTB and the treatment outcomes were distributed as follows: 477(42.5%) cured, 323 (28.0%) treatment completed, 17(1.5%) treatment failed, 81(7.2%) died, 89(7.9%) lost to follow-up, and 136(12.1%) not evaluated. Overall, 800 (81.1%) of the 987 persons with BC-PTB that had treatment outcome, were successfully treated. Successful treatment of tuberculosis was less likely to occur among those with HIV infection (Adjusted risk ratio (aRR), 0.88; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 0.82–0.95), older than 50 years (aRR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81–0.97), or male sex (aRR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.87–0.98). Mortality was associated with HIV infection (aRR, 4.48; 95% CI, 2.95–6.79), older than 50 years (aRR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.74–4.92), year of enrollment into treatment after 2015 (aRR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66–0.97), and Community-Based Directly Observed Therapy Short Course (aRR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.13–0.50).

Conclusions

Treatment success rate among adult persons with BC-PTB in rural eastern Uganda is suboptimal and mortality rate is high. HIV infection and older age reduce chances of treatment success, and increase mortality rate. Older and HIV infected persons with BC-PTB will require special consideration to optimize treatment success rate and reduce mortality rate.

Perceptions of Tuberculosis Among Individuals Born in a High-Endemic Setting, Now Living in a Low-Endemic Setting

Of all individuals diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in Sweden 2015 were 90% born in other countries. Early diagnosis and treatment is essential to avoid TB transmission. Lack of knowledge about TB and anticipated negative social consequences have proved to be significant contributing factors to delay in seeking health care. This study aimed to understand the perception of TB among people originating from a high-endemic region, currently living in a low-endemic region. A qualitative study design, with male and female participants from a high-endemic region divided into focus groups. A semi-structured interview guide was used to elicit their perceptions of TB. A qualitative content analysis was performed on the recorded material from the interviews. The informants noted that their attitude towards individuals with TB had changed, previously they had felt prejudiced towards them whereas now they felt supportive. It seems possible to diminish TB stigma by ensuring suitable health care is available in combination with correct information about transmission, infectiousness and treatment.

'They are inconveniencing us' - exploring how gaps in patient education and patient centred approaches interfere with TB treatment adherence: perspectives from patients and clinicians in the Free State Province, South Africa

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) treatment loss to follow up (LTFU) plays an important contributory role to the staggering TB epidemic in South Africa. Reasons for treatment interruption are poorly understood. Treatment interruption appears to be the culmination of poor health literacy of patients and inadequate health education provided by clinicians. We explored clinician and patient perspectives of the gaps in TB messaging that influence TB treatment LTFU.

METHODS

We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews between January and May 2018 with a sample of 15 clinicians managing TB and 7 patients identified as LTFU in public clinics in the Free State Province, South Africa. Thematic analysis using a mixed deductive/inductive thematic approach was used.

RESULTS

Limited occupational opportunities, fear of disclosure and stigmatization all contributed to treatment LTFU. Patients felt that the TB messaging received was inadequate. Many of the clinicians interviewed felt that improving patient's TB knowledge would reinforce adherence to treatment and thus focused on sharing information on treatment completion, side effects and infection control. However, the inability of clinicians to establish rapport with patients or to identify social support challenged TB treatment adherence by patients. Clinicians perceived this as patients not following their instructions despite what they considered lengthy TB education. Having said this, clinicians concurred that their medical management of TB lacked the psycho-social dimension to treat a social disease of this magnitude.

CONCLUSIONS

Limited occupational opportunities, fear of disclosure and stigmatization all contributed to treatment LTFU. Clinicians concurred that poor patient understanding of TB and that biomedical management lacking a psycho-social dimension further exacerbated the poor treatment outcome. TB remains a social disease, the successful management of which hinges on patient-centred care.

Converting and expanding mobile support tools for tuberculosis treatment support: Design recommendations from domain and design experts

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the top ten causes of death globally despite it being largely treatable. Poor adherence to treatment directly contributes to poor outcomes, such as, prolonged infectivity and the development of drug resistance. Mobile phone-based interventions have the potential to improve treatment outcomes.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to solicit design and domain expert feedback of a previously developed TB support intervention converted to a mobile application.

Methods

We used prototyping in iterative cycles that included integrating findings from prior formative research with endusers and soliciting feedback from design and content experts. In this project, we used low-fidelity prototype evaluation to inform the design of high-fidelity prototypes for further testing and iterative refinement.

Results

We received 12 survey results. Overall, the participants agreed that the functions would be easy to learn/use. Recommendations for improvement included: simplify the reporting by offering broad categories; split complex screens to be more intuitive and user friendly; modify feedback graphics to display data more clearly; incorporate instructions for each task/function to guide users and collapse the information once users had viewed it; display navigation icons on each screen and add a main menu button; have medication tracker be homepage and limit redundancies. Several potential functionalities were suggested, such as adding a notes/journal and a social feature. We were able to easily incorporate recommendations and feedback into the high-fidelity prototypes and continue testing and refinement. After we came to a stable prototype through testing, we gave the interactive prototype to our developers to program a base functioning model.

Conclusion

The proposed design recommendations provide valuable insight to inform initial conversion of an interactive intervention to customize patient support, which include a smartphone app and a direct drug metabolite test reengineered for home use. We argue that iteratively developing low- and high-fidelity prototypes with content and design experts to guide initial programming of a functional beta app paves the way to better explore further refinement needs and recommendations with endusers rather than using hypothetical scenarios.

Childhood tuberculosis treatment outcome and its association with HIV co-infection in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Tuberculosis is the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide, next to HIV. Hence, initiating and determining the national tuberculosis treatment program and outcome is crucial. However, the childhood tuberculosis treatment outcome in Ethiopia was not investigated.

Objective

This study determined the pooled estimate of childhood tuberculosis treatment outcome and its association with HIV co-infection.

Methods

PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, reference lists of included studies, and Ethiopian institutional research repositories were used to retrieve all available studies. Searching was limited to the studies that had been conducted in Ethiopia and published in the English language. In this study, observational studies, including cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies, were included. The estimate of childhood tuberculosis treatment outcome was determined using a weighted inverse variance random-effects model. The overall variation between studies was checked by the heterogeneity test (I ²). The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) quality appraisal criteria were used for quality assessment of the studies. The summary estimates were presented with forest plots and tables. Publication bias was also checked with the funnel plot and Egger's regression test. The outcome measures were successful and unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Successful treatment outcomes are defined as patients who are cured and treatment completed, whereas, an unsuccessful treatment outcome means those patients with defaulter, failure, and death treatment outcomes.

Result

To estimate the overall pooled estimate of successful treatment outcome, 6 studies with 5389 participants were considered. Consequently, the overall pooled estimate of successful treatment outcome was 79.62% (95% CI 73.22, 86.02) of which 72.44% was treatment completed. On the other hand, unsuccessful treatment outcomes, including treatment failure, defaulter, and death, were 0.15%, 5.36%, and 3.54%, respectively. Moreover, this study found that HIV co-infection was significantly associated with childhood tuberculosis treatment outcomes. Poor treatment outcome was higher among children with HIV co-infection with an odds ratio of 3.15 (95% CI 1.67, 5.94) compared to that of HIV-negative children.

Conclusion

The summary estimate of successful childhood tuberculosis treatment outcome was low compared to the threshold suggested by the World Health Organization. HIV co-infection is significantly associated with poor treatment outcome of childhood tuberculosis. Therefore, special attention is better to be given to children infected with HIV. Moreover, adherence to anti-TB has to be strengthened.

Trial registration

The protocol has been registered in PROSPERO with a registration number of CRD42018110570.

Does time to loss to follow-up differ among adult tuberculosis patients initiated on tuberculosis treatment and care between general hospital and health centers? A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Patients' loss to follow-up (LTFU) from tuberculosis treatment and care is a growing worry in Ethiopia. But, available information is inadequate in assessing the time to tuberculosis patient loss to follow-up difference between health centers and a general hospital in Ethiopia. We aimed to assess time to LTFU difference between health centers and a general hospital in rural Ethiopia.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study from September 2008 to August 2015 and collected data from September 1 to October 02, 2016. A total of 1341 TB patients with known treatment outcomes were included into the study. Log rank test was used to compare the difference in time to TB patient loss to follow-up between health centers and a general hospital, whereas Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess factors associated with time to loss to follow-up in both settings.

RESULTS

We reviewed a total of 1341 patient records, and the overall follow-up time was 3074.7 and 3974 person months of observation (PMOs) for TB patients followed at health centers and a general hospital, respectively. The incidence of loss to follow-up rate was 27.3 per 1000 PMOs and 9.6 per 1000 PMOs, at health centers and a general hospital, respectively. From the overall loss to follow-ups that occurred, 55 (65.5%) and 33 (86.8%) of LTFUs occurred during the intensive phase and grew to 78 (92.9%) and 38 (100%) at health center and a general hospital, respectively, at the end of 6-month observation period. Older age (AOR = 1.7, 95%CI, 1.2-2.5, P < 0.001), being a rural resident (AHR = 2.7, 95%CI, 1.6-4.6), HIV reactive (AHR = 2.2, 95%CI, 1.5-3.2), following treatment and care in health center (AHR = 3.38, 95%CI, 2.06-5.53), and living at more than 10 km away from the health facility (AHR = 3.4, 95%CI, 2.1-5.7) were predictors for time to loss to follow-up among TB patients on treatment and care.

CONCLUSION

Time to TB patient loss to follow-up between health centers and a general hospital was significant. Loss to follow-up was high in patients with older age, rural residence, sero positive for HIV, living further from the health facilities, and following treatment and care at health centers. Strengthening the DOTs program with special emphasis on health centers is highly recommended.

Patients' perspectives of tuberculosis treatment challenges and barriers to treatment adherence in Ukraine: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

To understand the challenges faced by patients with tuberculosis (TB) and factors that influence TB treatment adherence in Ukraine.

DESIGN

Qualitative study.

SETTING

TB treatment facilities in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.

PARTICIPANTS

Sixty adults who had undergone treatment for drug-sensitive TB between June 2012 and August 2015.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured, in-depth, individual interviews among a purposively selected clinical sample of patients previously treated for drug-sensitive TB. Interview content encompassed WHO's framework for barriers to adherence to long-term therapies and included questions about patient preferences and motivators concerning treatment adherence. We examined treatment experience across strata defined by previously identified risk correlates of non-adherence.

RESULTS

Among 60 participants, 19 (32.8%) were HIV positive, 12 (20.3%) had substance use disorder and 9 (15.0%) had not completed TB treatment. Respondents discussed the psychological distress associated with hospital-based TB care, as well as perceived unsupportive, antagonistic interactions with TB providers as major challenges to treatment adherence. An additional barrier to successful treatment completion included the financial toll of lost income during TB treatment, which was exacerbated by the additional costs of ancillary medications and transportation to ambulatory TB clinics. The high pill burden of TB treatment also undermined adherence. These challenges were endorsed among participants with and without major risk factors for non-adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight important barriers to TB treatment adherence in this study population and suggest specific interventions that may be beneficial in mitigating high rates of poor treatment outcomes for TB in Ukraine.