BACKGROUND: The prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) has been rapidly on the
ascendency in the recent years globally due to its co-infection with HIV/AIDS. TB
case finding is one of the technical pillars of the Directly Observed Treatment Short
course (DOTS) TB strategy and there has been advocacy for early TB case
detection to be the new focus of TB control efforts.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this non-experimental study was to assess the
determinants of TB case finding among pulmonary TB patients registered for treatment
in Makana Municipality
METHOD: A quantitative, non-experimental, cross sectional descriptive study among
PTB patients registered for treatment at the primary health care clinics in Makana
Municipality was done. Data collection was by self-administered questionnaires while
sampling was by systematic sampling of PTB patients at five systematically selected
clinics.
RESULTS: Patient–related delay contributed more to total delay, in this study
sample, than health system-related delay. Health system delay was found to be
significantly associated with poorer finances, passive smoking history, seeking care
from multiple health providers, initially visiting a non- NTCP health provider, TB
stigma , overcrowding in the household and having difficulty with breathing as an
initial symptom (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: There was a significant delay in TB case finding among PTB
patients in this local municipality and patient related determinants contributed more
than health system related determinants to this delay. There is need for the
municipal TB programme to embark on an aggressive health education programme
to furnish the populace with accurate information about TB, improve their health
seeking behaviour and help address the issue of stigma associated with TB. / Health Studies
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/13892 |
| Date | 29 August 2014 |
| Creators | Onaga, Juliet Onyinye |
| Contributors | Makua, M. R. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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