Patient Related Factors Influencing Timely Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, the control of Tuberculosis (TB) has remained a public health challenge despite numerous prevention and treatment programs. Kenya is ranked among countries with a high TB burden globally and has the highest incidences of all types of tuberculosis compared to other East African Countries. The high prevalence of TB in Kenya been attributed to delays in the diagnosis of TB. The consequence of the delays has been the increased spread of the disease, disease advancement, poor treatment outcomes, and high cost of patient treatment and care the affected populations. The aim of this study was to assess patient related factors influencing timely diagnosis of TB in Tharaka Nithi County. Tharaka Nithi County is among the counties with the highest prevalence of TB in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey study design. A sample of 154 patients randomly selected from three hospitals in Tharaka Nithi County was used. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Associations between patient related factors and duration of TB before diagnosis was tested using Chi-square. The study findings revealed that most (70.86%) of TB patients had delayed diagnosis. Persistent cough was the major sign that led patients to seek for care, while believe that signs and symptoms would disappear was major reason for delay in seeking treatment and care. Sex, age, marital status, employment, self-medication, stigma, work and smoking history were the patients related factors significantly associated with timely diagnosis of TB (P<0.05). The study recommends promotion of care seeking behavior through raising public awareness on tuberculosis, enhancing active case findings, strengthening community-hospital referral systems, boosting health system partnerships for early detection of TB.