Abstract
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) which is transmitted through the air or by ingesting infected milk or meat (bovine Tb). It is major public health problem worldwide. The study sought to determine factors contributing to patient defaulting to tuberculosis treatment in Nakuru East and West Sub-Counties, Nakuru County. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study design. The target populations were patients who had defaulted TB treatment in various health facilities of Nakuru East and West Sub-Counties, Nakuru County. They were estimated to be 70 clients according to District Health Information System, 2015. The study utilized convenient sampling method to access the respondents among the traced TB defaulters. Interview schedule was used as data collection tool. Data collected was analyzed by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and presented by use of tables. The study result found that majority of the respondents was male 38 (90.5%) while the minority was female 4 (4%). Counseling services to were; 7 (16.7%) only counseled during the first visit for treatment, 17 (40.5%) on each visit, 13 (31%) once a while 5 (11.9%) were never counseled 26 (61.9%) of the respondents were casual laborers, 3 (7.1%) were self-employed, 3 (7.1%) were employed and 7 (16.7%) were dependants and that 2 (9.5%) of the respondents believed that TB can be cured using traditional medicine while 40 (90.5%) did not belief that. The study recommends that health education should be intensified within the communities, focusing on all the TB patients to be intensified, particularly at the beginning of treatment, with reinforcement at each visit using the local language. This intensification should be comprehensive to include duration of treatment, possible side effects and how to deal with them, consequences of not completing TB treatment and the dangers of using traditional medicines during TB treatment.
Highlights
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) which is transmitted through the air or by ingesting infected milk or meat and it is both preventable and curable (WHO, 2006; Caminero 2003;24)
The disease causes significant mortality and morbidity globally and with the advent of the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) epidemicTB is regarded as a worldwide public health challenge (Kochi, 1991; World Health Organization (WHO), 1992)
These findings are in agreement with Mokgoadi (2002) study which suggests that a preventative measure to decrease non-compliance to TB treatment is to improve the attitude of health-care workers dealing with TB patients
Summary
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) which is transmitted through the air or by ingesting infected milk or meat (bovine Tb) and it is both preventable and curable (WHO, 2006; Caminero 2003;24). The prevalence of tuberculosis among close contact of infectious patients can be about 2.5 times higher than in the general population (Lenons, Mator, Pedral, Sampaio and Netto, 2004). Tuberculosis (TB) has been declared a global public health problem by World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO, 2012). The disease causes significant mortality and morbidity globally and with the advent of the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) epidemicTB is regarded as a worldwide public health challenge (Kochi, 1991; WHO, 1992). The rising incidence of TB due to the effect of HIV in Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care 2016; 2(4): 108-113 both developed and developing countries is well recognized (Narain et al, 2010)
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