ArticlePloS one2023
Healthcare seeking patterns for TB symptoms: Findings from the first national TB prevalence survey of South Africa, 2017-2019.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Differences in tuberculosis prevalence by sex in low- and middle-income countries over 1993-2025: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Asymptomatic Tuberculosis in Children With Household Exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026Article
- Linkage to TB and HIV care for persons who smoke illicit drugs: a prospective cohort study.IJTLD open · 2026Article
- Quantifying excess TB prevalence among people living with HIV on ART in the universal ART era: Evidence from a TB prevalence survey in Zambia and South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Shesha, a WhatsApp Chatbot for Linking Household Contacts to Tuberculosis Treatment or Preventive Therapy in South Africa: Design and Development.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Oral Rinse versus Facemask Capture for Nonsputum Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2025Article
- Understanding Patient Experiences: A Mixed-Methods Study on Barriers and Facilitators to TB Care-Seeking in South Africa.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Provider perspectives on empirical antibiotic treatment for tuberculosis-like symptoms in South Africa's private general practice sector: A qualitative study in two cities.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Advancing Parkinson's Disease Research in Africa: A Strategic Training Framework of the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2025Article
- Validation of screening instruments for common mental disorders and suicide risk in south African primary care settings.Journal of affective disorders · 2024Article
- Validation of a brief screener for broad-spectrum mental and substance-use disorders in South Africa.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Relationship between patient sex and anatomical sites of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Mali.Journal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2023Article
- An investigation of the correlation of vitamin D status and management outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19 at a South African tertiary hospital.IJID regions · 2023Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of M tuberculosis infection in young people across 14 communities in Zambia and South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Clinical standards for drug-susceptible pulmonary TB.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2022Article
- Safety and efficacy of BCG re-vaccination in relation to COVID-19 morbidity in healthcare workers: A double-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
- Early mortality during rifampicin-resistant TB treatment.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2022Article
- Article
- Diagnosis patterns for rifampicin-resistant TB after onset of COVID-19.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2021Article
- Navigating Masculinities: An Exploration of Peer Coaching, Health Behaviors, and Mortality Risks Among Men in Tuberculosis and HIV Interventions in South Africa.American journal of men's healthArticle
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlthough tuberculosis (TB) symptoms have limited sensitivity they remain an important entry point into the TB care cascade.
objectivesTo investigate self-reported healthcare seeking for TB symptoms in participants in a community-based survey.
methodsWe compared reasons for not seeking care in participants reporting ≥1 of four TB screening symptoms (cough, weight loss, night sweats, fever) in the first South African national TB prevalence survey (2017-2019). We used logistic regression analyses to identify sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with healthcare seeking.
results5,168/35,191 (14.7%) survey participants reported TB symptoms and 3,442/5168 had not sought healthcare. 2,064/3,442(60.0%) participants intended to seek care, 912 (26.5%) regarded symptoms as benign, 399 (11.6%) reported access barriers(distance and cost), 36 (1.0%) took other medications and 20(0.6%) reported health system barriers. Of the 57/98 symptomatic participants diagnosed with bacteriologically confirmed TB who had not sought care: 38(66.7%) intended to do so, 8(14.0%) regarded symptoms as benign, and 6(10.5%) reported access barriers. Among these 98, those with unknown HIV status(OR 0.16 95% CI 0.03-0.82), p = 0.03 and those who smoked tobacco products(OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.17-0.89, p = 0.03) were significantly less likely to seek care.
conclusionsPeople with TB symptoms delayed seeking healthcare, many regarded symptoms as benign while others faced access barriers. Those with unknown HIV status were significantly less likely to seek care. Strengthening community-based TB awareness and screening programmes together with self-screening models could increase awareness of the significance of TB symptoms and contribute to improving healthcare seeking and enable many people with TB to enter the TB care cascade.
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