Patients and health system-related factors impacting on tuberculosis program implementation in resource-constrained settings: experience from multi-TB facilities in Oyo state, South-West of Nigeria

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most prevalent human infections and is the second leading cause of deaths from infectious diseases worldwide, and Nigeria is the fourth among the 22 high-burden countries in the world for tuberculosis even though the exact burden of TB in Nigeria is not known. The study used exploratory cross-sectional design. A multistage stratified random sampling technique was used to select 680 participants from 16 DOTS facilities in one state in Nigeria. The results show that 59.25% (410) of individuals believed that the quality of access to care was excellent, 78.44% (542) of individuals believed that the appearance of the healthcare facility they attended was excellent, 75.40% (518) of individuals believed that there were many people accessing healthcare facilities and 82.33% (559) reported that they waited less than 30 minutes at a healthcare facility. Providing good quality care to patients is an ongoing practice that requires continued consultation with everybody involved including patients who are at the receiving end of the service in order to evaluate and improve on the services rendered. Such practices will motivate compliance to treatment and a collaborative relationship between patients and healthcare providers in TB management. Despite several challenges affecting treatment and patient care, this study reports that healthcare provision was generally satisfactory. Findings from this study are relevant for policy formation and strategic implementation for TB control program in resource-limited settings.