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. 2020 Oct 22;15(10):e0241124.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241124. eCollection 2020.

Patient-perceived treatment burden of tuberculosis treatment

Natasha C H Ting  1   2 , Nicole El-Turk  1   2 , Michael S H Chou  1   2 , Claudia C Dobler  1   2   3
Affiliations

Patient-perceived treatment burden of tuberculosis treatment

Natasha C H Ting et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Treatment for tuberculosis lasts for a minimum of 6 months. The treatment burden experienced by patients in a low-incidence setting where directly observed therapy is the standard of care is not well-known.

Methods: Patients receiving tuberculosis treatment through the chest clinic at a tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia, participated in a semi-structured interview. The interviews explored the treatment burden experienced by patients and possible solutions to ameliorate this burden. Interviews were conducted until data saturation was achieved. They were recorded, transcribed and analysed using NVivo 12 software.

Results: Twenty participants (80% male, mean age 40 years) with pulmonary (n = 13) and extra-pulmonary (n = 7) tuberculosis were interviewed. Participants experienced healthcare, financial, social and medication burdens along with lifestyle changes due to treatment. Medication intake was challenging due to the high number of pills, and 55% (n = 11) of patients experienced fatigue amongst other side effects. Patients found clinic-based directly observed therapy inconvenient, especially those working and/or studying. Suggestions to lessen treatment burden included reducing medication burden and better access to health services.

Conclusion: Tuberculosis treatment is associated with substantial treatment burden for patients. Measures to reduce treatment burden including alternative treatment delivery methods which are more accommodating to patients than clinic-based directly observed therapy, such as video directly observed therapy or partially self -administered treatment, should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Treatment burden framework for tuberculosis.
Red: main theme; orange: main categories of treatment burden; yellow: sub-themes; green: specific forms of treatment burden.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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