English

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis affects the economically productive age group and has emerged as a significant cause of socio economic global burden. OBJECTIVE: To find out epidemiological factors responsible for Tuberculosis and the clinico-social correlates influencing their compliance. METHODS: This study was carried out among all the New Smear Positive Tuberculosis (NSP-TB) patients registered in Dhubri District Tuberculosis Centre (DTC- TU) during 2007 in Assam by interview technique using a pre-tested questionnaire. RESULTS: Overall 90.76 percent of the participants were in the age group of 15 to 55 years. Majority of them were unskilled workers and were the sole earning member of their family. 83.33% of the patients had symptoms of cough for more than three weeks. Almost all of the patient's houses (98.15%) were found to be overcrowded. More than half of the patients had X-ray examination as their initial approach to diagnosis. There were more males (59.18%) than females (40.82%) who had reported to the health institution within first 6 weeks after the onset of symptom & among them altogether 91.84 % were declared cured after completion of therapy. On the contrary, only 40% of the patients initiating treatment after 6 weeks of the onset of symptoms were declared cured after completion of therapy. Long distance to the treatment centre, unpleasant effect of the drug and personal inconvenience were cited as cause of irregular treatment and defaulting. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of NSP TB cases was more among the illiterate and underprivileged population who needs counseling & motivation for early