Where will it end? Pathways to care and catastrophic costs following negative TB evaluation in Uganda.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Catastrophic costs incurred by tuberculosis (TB) patients have received considerable attention, however little is known about costs and pathways to care after a negative TB evaluation.

Materials and methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 70 patients with a negative TB evaluation at four community health centres in rural and peri-urban Uganda. Patients were traced 9 months post-evaluation using contact information from TB registers. We collected information on healthcare visits and implemented locally-validated costing questionnaires to assess the financial impact of their symptoms post-evaluation.

Results

Of 70 participants, 57 (81%) were traced and 53 completed the survey. 31/53 (58%) surveyed participants returned to healthcare facilities post-

SUBMITTER: Samuels THA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8284677 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature