High non-compliance rate with anti-tuberculosis treatment: a need to shift facility-based directly observed therapy short course (DOTS) to community mobile outreach team supervision in Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health problem in many developing countries including Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Patient compliance with anti-tuberculosis treatment is a determining factor in controlling the spread of TB. This study compares the default rate and the perception of their treatment among TB patients being treated by means of a community mobile outreach approach, with those of patients being treated by means of a facility-based Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) in the Jeddah region of Saudi Arabia. METHODS:A comparative cross-sectional study of 200?TB patients who presented at the Madain Alfahd Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) Jeddah, between January 2018 and November 2018 was undertaken. In one group, randomly assigned patients were served by mobile outreach teams who administered oral anti-TB treatment under the DOTS regime. In the other group, the patients were treated by means of the traditional facility-based DOTS treatment. A questionnaire measuring patient attitudes and understanding of the disease and their treatment modes was completed by patients at the beginning of their treatment, and again after 3?months. The results were analysed by means of independent and Paired T Tests, along with chi square analysis. RESULTS:We found that the overall default rate among those patients served by our mobile outreach team was only 3%, compared with a 22% default rate among non-mobile team treated patients (p?=?

SUBMITTER: AlSahafi AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6712871 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature