Publications

The main obstacle to tuberculosis control in Uganda is noncompliance with treatment, witha default rate of 13%. Treatment completion rates are reported to be 70% and 29%,respectively, among patients who cure the disease. This increases the risk of treatmentresistance, relapse, and death, as well as the duration of infectiousness. A cross-sectionalstudy of 215 TB patients at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital aimed to determine factorsinfluencing adherence to treatment. The majority of participants (43.70%) were aged 25-34,with 88.80% from rural areas. The majority of participants (54.90%) had less than a highschool diploma as their highest degree of education. The majority (90.70%) wereunemployed, with 85.10% having a monthly salary of less than $100,000. The level of nonadherenceto treatment was 22.3%. Monthly income and health education on tuberculosisdisease were found to be associated with TB disease at the multivariate level. Patients atHoima Regional Referral Hospital's tuberculosis clinic adhered to their treatment regimensat a high rate of 77.3 percent, but this is inadequate compared to the required adherencelevels of greater than 90% to assist cure.