Travel distance to rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis treatment and its impact on loss to follow-up: the importance of continued RR-TB treatment decentralization in South Africa

McNabb, Katherine C.; Bergman, Alanna J.; Patil, Amita; Lowensen, Kelly; Mthimkhulu, Nomusa; Budhathoki, Chakra; Perrin, Nancy; Farley, Jason E.

doi:10.1186/s12889-024-17924-0

Travel distance to rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis treatment and its impact on loss to follow-up: the importance of continued RR-TB treatment decentralization in South Africa

Dokumentdetails

ID

doi:10.1186/s12889-024-17924-0...

Autor

McNabb, Katherine C. Bergman, Alanna J. Patil, Amita Lowensen, Kelly Mthimkhulu, Nomusa Budhathoki, Chakra Perrin, Nancy Farley, Jason E.

Langue

Editor

BioMed Central

Kategorie

Epidemiology

Jahr

2024

Auflistungsdatum

28.02.2024

Schlüsselwörter

loss to follow-up care retention care engagement tuberculosis rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis multidrug-resistant tuberculosis hiv south africa south using rr-tb distance ltfu travel patients

Metrisch

Zusammenfassung

Background Understanding why patients experience loss to follow-up (LTFU) is essential for TB control.

This analysis examines the impact of travel distance to RR-TB treatment on LTFU, which has yet to be analyzed within South Africa.

Methods We retrospectively analyzed 1436 patients treated for RR-TB at ten South African public hospitals.

We linked patients to their residential ward using data reported to NHLS and maps available from the Municipal Demarcation Board.

Travel distance was calculated from each patient’s ward centroid to their RR-TB treatment site using the georoute command in Stata.

The relationship between LTFU and travel distance was modeled using multivariable logistic regression.

Results Among 1436 participants, 75.6% successfully completed treatment and 24.4% were LTFU.

The median travel distance was 40.96 km (IQR: 17.12, 63.49).

A travel distance > 60 km increased odds of LTFU by 91% ( p = 0.001) when adjusting for HIV status, age, sex, education level, employment status, residential locale, treatment regimen, and treatment site.

Conclusion People living in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape travel long distances to receive RR-TB care, placing them at increased risk for LTFU.

Policies that bring RR-TB treatment closer to patients, such as further decentralization to PHCs, are necessary to improve RR-TB outcomes.

McNabb, Katherine C.,Bergman, Alanna J.,Patil, Amita,Lowensen, Kelly,Mthimkhulu, Nomusa,Budhathoki, Chakra,Perrin, Nancy,Farley, Jason E., 2024, Travel distance to rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis treatment and its impact on loss to follow-up: the importance of continued RR-TB treatment decentralization in South Africa, BioMed Central