Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Jul 28:7:19.
doi: 10.1186/1478-4505-7-19.

Public and/or private health care: tuberculosis patients' perspectives in Myanmar

Saw Saw  1 , Lenore Manderson, Mridula Bandyopadhyay, Than Tun Sein, Myo Myo Mon, Win Maung
Affiliations

Public and/or private health care: tuberculosis patients' perspectives in Myanmar

Saw Saw et al. Health Res Policy Syst. .

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis is a major public health problem in Myanmar as in other developing countries. About 73% of TB patients seek care at private general practitioners' clinics before presenting to the public TB centre, raising questions about how best to prevent transmission and maintain treatment regimens.

Method: The study was conducted in two townships in Yangon Division in Myanmar in 2004, and examined treatment seeking behaviour of TB patients and their views towards public and private health care services. This was an exploratory descriptive study. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in data collection from TB patients, health care professionals, and members of various agencies involved in TB Control Programme.

Results: A considerable delay was found between the onset of symptoms of TB and seeking treatment (five days - two months). General practitioners were the first point of contact in all cases. Old TB patients influenced the treatment seeking behaviour and choice of treatment clinics of new TB patients. Most patients viewed the public health sector as a place to obtain free treatment and the private sector as a fee-paying, convenient and better place to seek treatment.

Conclusion: The involvement of private general practitioners is crucial for effective TB control in Myanmar. The selection of GPs for partnership with the public sector is vital to the success of public-private partnership in controlling TB.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Treatment seeking among TB patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. WHO . Alma-Ata 1978: Primary Health Care Report of the International Conference on Primary Health Care. Alma Ata, USSR: World Health Organization; 1979.
    1. Bennett S, McPake B, Mills A. The public/private mix debate in health care. In: Bennett S, McPake B, Mills A, editor. Private Health Providers in Developing Countries: Serving the Public Interest? London: Zed Books; 1997. pp. 1–18.
    1. WHO . The Public/Private Mix in National Health Systems and the Role of Ministries of Health. Morelos, Mexico: World Health Organization; 1991.
    1. WHO . Public/Private Collaboration for Health. Windhoek, Namibia: World Health Organization; 1994.
    1. WHO . Informal consultation on private practitioners' involvement in control of communicable diseases with focus on tuberculosis. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2000. Informal consultation on private practitioners' involvement in control of communicable diseases with focus on tuberculosis.

LinkOut - more resources