Factors associated with delay of patients with cough to tuberculosis treatment centres in selected DOTS in South-West Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

The recent gain in the fight against Tuberculosis is potentially being threatened by the delays in the diagnosis and treatment of infected patients. These patients continue to make contacts with other people in the community and spread the disease without knowing. Thus, there is a need to identify the factors associated with these delays and the possibility of mitigating them.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria. Three primary health care centres with high burden of tuberculosis were selected for this study. Patients with newly diagnosed tuberculosis was recruited, delays for presentation at the health centres were evaluated and associated factors were determined using their clinical records and a standard questionnaire.

RESULTS

A total of 135 patients met the criteria for this study, and 68 (50.4%) of them were males. Two levels of delays were identified: delay between symptoms onset and presentation in health centres and delays between diagnosis and treatment commencement. Factors associated with these delays were: socio-economic status (p = 0.006), type of area of residence (p = 0.015), current smoking status (p = 0.016) and seeking treatment elsewhere before the current ailment (p = 0.037).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that socio-economic factors, area of residence, cigarette smoking and previous presentation at other health facilities were factors associated with delays at DOTS centres.