FACTORS AFFECTING TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENT IN THE BOLE DISTRICT OF THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is of great public health concern affecting one third of the world’s population regardless of all the interventions put in place to control it. The objective of this study was to assess the factors that affect TB treatment in the Bole District. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted with 95 TB patients made up of 25 defaulters and 70 completed treatment TB patients. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the study participants. The quantitative data was analysed using EPI info. For association of factors Chi-square test was used. If p<0.05 the test was considered statistically significant. This study found that the following factors were associated with TB treatment default; staying outside the Bole district whiles using the Bole district hospital as their treatment center (p = 0.004) and not having treatment supporters (P = 0.001). Other factors found to be associated with treatment default were travelling over 30km to the treatment center (p = 0.002) and patients’ experiencing side effects of drugs (p = 0.01). Despite the challenges, the motivating factors for some patients to successfully complete their treatment were; the wish of wanting to get well, support from friends/family members in the form of words of encouragement and occasionally financial support. In conclusion, this study revealed that traveling over 30 km to the treatment center for TB drugs and patients’ not having a treatment supporter were predictors of non-compliance with TB treatment. This study, therefore recommends that TB treatment be decentralized to all public health facilities in the district to reduce the travelling distance and cost incurred by patients in travelling to the district hospital for their medication.