Compliance with directly-observed therapy short course regimen and recovery from pulmonary tuberculosis among clients of an infectious disease hospital

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the compliance with directly-observed therapy short course (DOTS)-regimen and recovery from pulmonary tuberculosis among clients of infectious Diseases Hospital, Ikot Ekpene, Nigeria.

Methods: A descriptive design was used for the study and a total of 100 pulmonary tuberculosis patients who came for medical checkup between August and September 2021 were studied using convenience sampling technique. The instrument used for data collection was a researcher constructed questionnaire with 20 items grouped into sections A and B. Section A, elicited information on the demographic data of the respondents while section B focused on the level of compliance and recovery rate of the patients. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of percentages on frequency tables and chart while Pearson product Moment Correlation formula was used to analyse the results at 0.05 level of significance.

Results: Findings from the study revealed that majority (72.2%) of the patients had knowledge, 70.6% complied with DOTS regimen and 68.2% recovered from pulmonary tuberculosis. There was no significant relationship between patient’s knowledge of the disease and compliance with DOTS.

Conclusion: It is therefore recommended that adequate information should be given to all pulmonary tuberculosis patients on the need for strict compliance with DOTS in order to recover completely from the infection after treatment.