ArticlePloS one2020
Barriers in the access, diagnosis and treatment completion for tuberculosis patients in central and western Nepal: A qualitative study among patients, community members and health care workers.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 140 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of barriers to and enablers of tuberculosis diagnosis, notification, and intervention for designing customised intervention package to minimise 'missing millions' in tribal communities of India.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Barriers That Interfere with Access to Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment across Countries Globally: A Systematic Review.ACS infectious diseases · 2024Pooled it
- Facilitators and barriers to tuberculosis active case findings in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review of qualitative research.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Patient adherence to tuberculosis treatment in the Indian subcontinent: systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Community engagement in research in sub-Saharan Africa: current practices, barriers, facilitators, ethical considerations and the role of gender - a systematic review.The Pan African medical journal · 2022Pooled it
- Diabetes among tuberculosis patients and its impact on tuberculosis treatment in South Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Knowledge on tuberculosis and utilization of DOTS service by tuberculosis patients in Lalitpur District, Nepal.PloS one · 2021Trial
- mHealth-supported tuberculosis contact investigation by community health workers in high-burden countries: a scoping review.Global health action · 2026Article
- Exploring community awareness and perspectives on zoonotic disease in Nepal: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Evolving profiles and treatment success predictors among tuberculosis patients in Uganda from 2019 to 2023: a registry based study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Tuberculosis: An Ongoing Global Threat.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Enacted and internalized stigma as predictors of successful treatment outcome among newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients in Gauteng, South Africa.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Operationalization of rapid molecular test coverage for tuberculosis in different international contexts: a scoping review.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Sickle Cell Disease Among Sickle Cell Disease Patients in Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Article
- 'Community people are the most powerful resources': qualitative critical realist analysis and framework to support co-produced responses to zoonotic disease threats with(in) Nepali communities.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Effectiveness and Acceptability of Video-Observed Therapy for Tuberculosis Treatment Monitoring: A Scoping Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- Barriers and facilitators to tuberculosis service access for patients in Bajhang, Nepal: a qualitative study based on focus groups with patients, screening camp visitors, community volunteers and medical doctors.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- The behaviour of TB patients in East Lombok through a health belief model approach.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNepal has achieved a significant reduction of TB incidence over the past decades. Nevertheless, TB patients continue to experience barriers in access, diagnosis and completion of the treatment. The main objective of this study was to explore the factors affecting the access to the health services, diagnosis and the treatment completion for TB patients in central and western Nepal.
methodsData were collected using in-depth interviews (IDI) with the TB patients (n = 4); Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with TB suspected patients (n = 16); Semi Strucutred Interviews (SSIs) with health workers (n = 24) and traditional healers (n = 2); and FGDs with community members (n = 8). All data were audio recorded, transcribed and translated to English. All transcriptions underwent thematic analysis using qualitative data analysis software: Atlas.ti.
resultsBarriers to access to the health centre were the long distance, poor road conditions, and costs associated with travelling. In addition, lack of awareness of TB and its consequences, and the belief, prompted many respondents to visit traditional healers. Early diagnosis of TB was hindered by lack of trained health personnel to use the equipment, lack of equipment and irregular presence of health workers. Additional barriers that impeded the adherence and treatment completion were the need to visit health centre daily for DOTS treatment and associated constraints, complex treatment regimen, and the stigma.
conclusionsBarriers embedded in health services and care seekers' characteristics can be dealt by strengthening the peripheral health services. A continuous availability of (trained) human resources and equipment for diagnosis is critical. As well as increasing the awareness and collaborating with the traditional healers, health services utilization can be enhanced by compensating the costs associated with it, including the modification in current DOTS strategy by providing medicine for a longer term under the supervision of a family member, peer or a community volunteer.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.