Behavioural barriers and perceived trade-offs to care-seeking for tuberculosis in the Philippines

Bibliographic Data

ID15540992
AuthorsEmily Zimmerman (0000-0003-2678-6657, Ideas42, corresponding author), Jana Smith (0000-0001-6400-8050, Ideas42), Rachel F Banay (Ideas42), Madeline Kau (Ideas42), Anna Marie Celina Garfin (0000-0003-3793-2429, Department of Health)
Year2020
Volume17
Issue2
Pages210-222
Publication date2020-12-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17441692.2020.1855460
PMID33275865
OpenAlexW3108543608
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

Effective tuberculosis (TB) treatment has existed for more than 50 years, but TB remains a leading cause of death worldwide and in the Philippines, in part because symptomatic individuals delay or avoid seeking care. Through qualitative interviews in Pampanga, Philippines, we investigated barriers to care-seeking using a behavioural science lens. We found barriers to TB care-seeking to be shaped by: (1) ambiguous symptoms; (2) association of TB risk with lifestyle and habits; (3) expectations of stigma, discrimination, and isolation; (4) short-term costs and long-term financial burden of TB; and (5) visibility of care in public sector facilities. Findings suggest that these barriers are deeply intertwined and that, typically, it is a combination of barriers that holds back a particular symptomatic individual from seeking care, as the barriers influence implicit trade-offs related to health, social, and financial consequences of having TB or another serious illness and of seeking care or not seeking care. The findings suggest avenues for more effectively reaching those with symptoms and their family members to encourage care-seeking by elevating the perceived benefits and putting perceived costs in proper perspective

Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Family medicine · Health care · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Psychiatry · Public health · Qualitative research · Social stigma · Sociology · Stigma (botany · Tuberculosis · Global Maternal and Child Health · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology