Health care seeking behavior and patient delay in tuberculosis diagnosis

Bibliographic Data

ID5168197
AuthorsCarlos Podalirio Borges De Almeida (0000-0003-0254-4178, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Erika Cavalheiro Skupien (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Denise Rossato Silva (0000-0003-0230-2734, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul)
Year2015
Volume31
Issue2
Pages321-330
Publication date2015-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCadernos de Saude Publica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0102-311X • E-ISSN: 1678-4464
PublisherFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/0102-311x00195413
PMID25760166
OpenAlexW2078372706
SCIELO_PIDS0102-311X2015000200321
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited18

Delays in diagnosis of TB cases are major impeding factors in the control of TB. The objectives of this study were to describe the health care seeking behavior of TB patients, assessing patient delay and the number of health care facilities visited before the start of TB treatment. A cross-sectional study was carried out with adult patients with pulmonary TB presenting to two TB facilities to start treatment. We found a median patient delay of 20 days. The factors associated negatively with patient delay in multivariate analysis were weight loss, and have sought treatment because of the first symptom. We also demonstrated that 44.8% of patients incorrectly reported the mode of transmission of TB. In addition, the local of first attendance was an emergency room of public hospitals in 37.3% of patients. We demonstrated that the median patient delay in TB diagnosis in two TB services in a region with a high prevalence of TB was 20 days, and the protective factors associated with this delay in multivariate analysis were weight loss, and have sought treatment because of the first symptom

Attendance · Cross-sectional study · Multivariate analysis · Public health · Transmission (telecommunications) · Tuberculosis · Weight loss · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Mycobacterium research and diagnosis · Nursing · Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia detection and treatment · Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology · Pediatrics