Patient Factors Which Contribute to Non-adherence to TB Treatment in Kericho and Nakuru Counties of Kenya

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s deadliest communicable diseases and remains a global public health problem with significant morbidity and mortality.[1, 2] Globally, the tuberculosis (TB) mortality rate has fallen by 41 % since 1990, and the world is on track to reach the global target of a 50 % reduction during 2015. [3] However, global TB control has faced many challenges, with an estimated 8.7 million incident cases in 2011 and 1.4 million deaths from TB since 2011. Non adherence to TB treatment leads to high increase in morbidity and mortality, prolonged TB infectiousness, multi drug resistance, relapse and death and high cost of TB treatment which translates to increased burden not only to the nation but to the community TB control interventions. Noncompliance to prescribed drug regimens is a major challenge to attainment of TB treatment goal which is to cure patients once they start treatment. Progress in responding to multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains slow, [3] particularly in high-burden countries where the incidence of MDR-TB is unacceptably high [3, 4]. In addition, global economic crises and reduced investments in health services threaten national tuberculosis control programs. [3, 5] The Kenya National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Lung Disease Program (NTLD-P) has been implementing initiatives towards achieving internationally agreed TB control targets whose immediate short-term goal was to achieve 70/85 targets – that is, to detect 70 % of infectious TB and cure 85% of the detected cases and then sustain this effort over a long time. The Kenya TB treatment defaulter rate is 15% [8] Adherence to TB treatment is one of the factors that lead to increase in cure rate and reduction in morbidity and mortality and also decreased emergence of multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB). Emergence of MDR TB results in high cost of treatment. Though TB does not discriminate on age, sex or education these factors are thought to influence its spread. Previous research in different contexts [7] has shown that there exist many factors influencing non-compliance. They range from individual patient, health care provider, health care delivery patterns and socio-economic related factors.

Description

Journal Article

Keywords

Non-Adherence, TB Treatment, Defaulter, Patient Factor, Tuberculosis

Citation

Sang, R. A. et al. Patient Factors Which Contribute to Non-adherence to TB Treatment in Kericho and Nakuru Counties of Kenya. Science Journal of Health. 5(4). pp 329-334. 10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.18

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