SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
This article is part of the Research TopicWorld TB Day 2025: Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, DeliverView all 15 articles
A scoping review of socio-cultural factors affecting tuberculosis control: Evidence from global studies
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
- 2University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- 3University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
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Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a pressing global health challenge, ranking among the leading causes of death from a single infectious agent. In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 10.6 million new TB cases and 1.6 million TB-associated deaths globally, underscoring the enduring burden of the disease. The review aimed to explore and map the socio-cultural factors affecting TB control by synthesizing evidence from diverse global studies. Methods: This review adhered to the six steps outlined in the guidelines by Askey and O'Malley. Search was conducted across four main databases, including PubMed, JSTOR, Dimension AI, and AJOL, using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms for PubMed and refined for other databases. Additional searches were performed in Google Scholar and university repositories. Reference lists of eligible records were also checked for other relevant articles. Both peer-reviewed and grey literature were included. Search results were screened against predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and extraction was done using a data extraction form. Thematic analysis and synthesis were carried out with evidence presented as narrations and summarized in tables. Results: A total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review, highlighting socio-cultural factors and interventions affecting TB control. The main socio-cultural factors identified include health literacy, cultural beliefs, socio-economic factors, healthcare accessibility, and cultural practices. Additionally, stigma, financial constraints, reliance on traditional medicine, and inadequate healthcare resources were also identified as contributing factors. Effective interventions focused on community engagement, cultural adaptation, gender sensitivity, and improving accessibility to healthcare. Conclusions: Socio-cultural factors significantly affect the effectiveness of TB control efforts. Interventions that incorporate community engagement, cultural adaptation, and gender sensitivity are essential for overcoming barriers to care and improving treatment outcomes. Tailoring TB control programs to address specific cultural contexts and ensuring accessibility and trust in healthcare systems are crucial steps in enhancing global TB control strategies.
Keywords: Tuberculosis, Socio-cultural factors, Health-seeking behavior, TB control, socioeconomic determinants
Received: 13 Sep 2025; Accepted: 18 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alhassan, Salifu, Doe, Odonkor and Lasong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Amidu Alhassan, amidualhassan24@gmail.com
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