Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana
Most of the global cases of tuberculosis (TB) are found in Asia and Africa. This is largely due to deficient educational information, myths, beliefs and suboptimal service delivery as a result of inadequate infrastructure. Even though proper treatment can cure TB, bureaucratic difficulties and probl...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English |
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RCN Publishing
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50520/ |
| _version_ | 1848798272027623424 |
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| author | Salifu, Yakubu Eliason, Cecilai Mensah, George |
| author_facet | Salifu, Yakubu Eliason, Cecilai Mensah, George |
| author_sort | Salifu, Yakubu |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Most of the global cases of tuberculosis (TB) are found in Asia and Africa. This is largely due to deficient educational information, myths, beliefs and suboptimal service delivery as a result of inadequate infrastructure. Even though proper treatment can cure TB, bureaucratic difficulties and problems with caring for patients mean procedures to ensure that patients receive and complete treatment may stifle the treatment regimen.
This paper looks at the service factors that affect adherence to TB treatment, while seeking to explore good practices to improve support for patients. It discusses a study that used a qualitative interpretive descriptive design involving interviews across health facilities in one district in Ashanti Region, Ghana. Ten patients were recruited in 2014 and interviewed. They revealed the challenges and facilitators that affected their adherence to their treatment. Three main themes were identified: institutional support, staff attitude and patients’ unmet needs. Staff commitment, proper supervision of TB patients and individualising care encourages adherence, while organisational challenges, poor supervision of patients and unfriendly staff attitudes discourage the continuity of treatment. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:17:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-50520 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:17:08Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | RCN Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-505202018-06-12T05:31:53Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50520/ Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana Salifu, Yakubu Eliason, Cecilai Mensah, George Most of the global cases of tuberculosis (TB) are found in Asia and Africa. This is largely due to deficient educational information, myths, beliefs and suboptimal service delivery as a result of inadequate infrastructure. Even though proper treatment can cure TB, bureaucratic difficulties and problems with caring for patients mean procedures to ensure that patients receive and complete treatment may stifle the treatment regimen. This paper looks at the service factors that affect adherence to TB treatment, while seeking to explore good practices to improve support for patients. It discusses a study that used a qualitative interpretive descriptive design involving interviews across health facilities in one district in Ashanti Region, Ghana. Ten patients were recruited in 2014 and interviewed. They revealed the challenges and facilitators that affected their adherence to their treatment. Three main themes were identified: institutional support, staff attitude and patients’ unmet needs. Staff commitment, proper supervision of TB patients and individualising care encourages adherence, while organisational challenges, poor supervision of patients and unfriendly staff attitudes discourage the continuity of treatment. RCN Publishing 2018-02-23 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50520/8/PHC1312%20Manuscript%20R1.pdf application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50520/1/Health%20service%20factors%20that%20affect%20adherence.pdf Salifu, Yakubu, Eliason, Cecilai and Mensah, George (2018) Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana. Primary Health Care, 28 (2). pp. 27-33. ISSN 2047-900X Adherence counselling; Care; Ghana; Institutional support; Non-adherence; Tuberculosis; Treatment compliance; Unmet need https://journals.rcni.com/primary-health-care/health-service-factors-that-affect-adherence-to-tuberculosis-treatment-in-ghana-phc.2018.e1312 doi:10.7748/phc.2018.e1312 doi:10.7748/phc.2018.e1312 |
| spellingShingle | Adherence counselling; Care; Ghana; Institutional support; Non-adherence; Tuberculosis; Treatment compliance; Unmet need Salifu, Yakubu Eliason, Cecilai Mensah, George Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana |
| title | Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana |
| title_full | Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana |
| title_short | Health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in Ghana |
| title_sort | health service factors that affect adherence to tuberculosis treatment in ghana |
| topic | Adherence counselling; Care; Ghana; Institutional support; Non-adherence; Tuberculosis; Treatment compliance; Unmet need |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50520/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50520/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50520/ |