Abstract
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) treatment loss to follow up (LTFU) plays an important contributory role to the staggering TB epidemic in South Africa. Reasons for treatment interruption are poorly understood. Treatment interruption appears to be the culmination of poor health literacy of patients and limited health education provided by clinicians. We explored clinician and patient perspectives of the gaps in TB messaging that influence TB treatment LTFU. Methods: We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews between January and May 2018 with a sample of 15 clinicians managing TB and 7 patients identified as LTFU in public clinics in the Free State Province, South Africa. We used thematic analysis with deductive and inductive approaches. Results: Limited occupational opportunities, fear of disclosure and stigmatization all contributed to treatment LTFU. Patients felt that the TB messaging received was inadequate. Many of the clinicians interviewed felt that improving patient’s TB knowledge would reinforce adherence to treatment and thus focused on sharing information on treatment completion, side effects and infection control. However, the inability of clinicians to establish rapport with patients or to identify social support challenged TB treatment adherence by patients. Clinicians perceived this as patients did not follow their instructions despite what they considered lengthy TB education. Having said this, clinicians concurred that their medical management of TB lacked the psycho-social dimension to treat a social disease of this magnitude. Conclusions: Limited occupational opportunities, fear of disclosure and stigmatization all contributed to treatment LTFU. Clinicians concurred that poor patient understanding of TB and that biomedical management lacking a psycho-social dimension further exacerbated the poor treatment outcome. TB remains a social disease, the successful management of which hinges on patient-centred care. Keywords: tuberculosis TB, adherence, messaging, loss to follow up, knowledge, health literacy, patient-centered care
‘They are inconveniencing us’ - exploring how gaps in patient education and patient centred approaches interfere with TB treatment adherence: perspectives from patients and clinicians in the Free State Province, South Africa
