Knowledge, Beliefs and Levels of Compliance with Medication Regimens in Patients with Tuberculosis accessing Services at a National Tuberculosis Centre in Nigeria
Keywords:
Drug compliance, treatment adherence, treatment regimen, multi-drug resistance, tuberculosis, National Tuberculosis Treatment centre, NigeriaAbstract
Tuberculosis (TB) has remained a public health problem, with growing number of cases. Some point to non-compliance to treatment as explanation for the increase. Recent data on compliance of patients to their drugs and their perception about these treatments are lacking. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, beliefs and level of compliance among patients receiving treatment at the National Tuberculosis Treatment centre in Nigeria. Adopting a descriptive cross-sectional study design, data were collected through a researcher-constructed questionnaire from 60 consecutive patients with tuberculosis at the centre. Data collected were analysed descriptively, with the aid of SPSS version 24.0. Findings revealed predominantly male patients aged between 34 and 40 years, with low literate level (70% of participants did not have any formal education). Based on the multiple responses given, majority (75%; n=45) correctly see TB as an infectious disease; others incorrectly see TB as a congenital disease (55%), hereditary disorder (12.5%), or spiritual attack (7.5%). On its mode of transmission, only 37.5% correctly identifying the route; 55% of them believe it is congenital. Results further indicate that most patients (70%) do not comply with or adhere to the treatment regimen, due to following reasons: use of alternative medicine therapies (55%), low level of awareness about adherence and complete cure (17.5%), the big size of prescribed tablets for swallowing (15%), and the side-effects of the drugs (12.5%). Nearly half were made to discontinue therapy due to side effects of drugs. The study concludes that there is high non-compliance with TB treatment, linked to patients’ belief more using folk remedies, which is considered cheaper and healthier, especially during the continuation phase. The demographic variables of patients seem to be associated with this low compliance level. These facts should guide future intervention towards strict adherence to treatment through patient and community education. Such efforts should improve the compliance level a great deal in ensuring strict adherence to treatment. Examining the drug resistance among these patients should be a future study at the treatment centre.
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