AUTHOR=Paz-Soldan Valerie A. , Alban Rebecca E. , Dimos Jones Christy , Powell Amy R. , Oberhelman Richard A. 

TITLE=Patient Reported Delays in Seeking Treatment for Tuberculosis among Adult and Pediatric TB Patients and TB Patients Co-Infected with HIV in Lima, Peru: A Qualitative Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00281

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2014.00281

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health challenge worldwide, and particularly in Peru with one of the highest incidence rates in Latin America. TB patient behavior has a direct influence on whether a patient will receive timely diagnosis and successful treatment of their illness.</p><p><bold>Objectives:</bold> The objective was to understand the complex factors that can impact TB patient health seeking behavior.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> In-depth interviews were conducted with adult and parents of pediatric patients receiving TB treatment (<italic>n</italic> = 43), within that group a sub-group was also co-infected with HIV (<italic>n</italic> = 11).</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Almost all of the study participants recognized delays in seeking either their child’s or their own diagnosis of their TB symptoms. The principal reasons for treatment-seeking delays were lack of knowledge and confusion of TB symptoms, fear and embarrassment of receiving a TB diagnosis, and a patient tendency to self-medicate prior to seeking formal medical attention.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Health promotion activities that target patient delays have the potential to improve individual patient outcomes and mitigate the spread of TB at a community level.</p>