Effectiveness of Structured Health Education Material on Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Clients of Josefina Belmonte Duran Albay Provincial Hospital

Abstract

The Programmatic Management for Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (PMDT) is a specialized and systematic management of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) that involves the integration of diagnostic tools, treatment protocols, and supportive measures within existing national TB control programs worldwide. These guidelines ensure that registering, monitoring, and reporting treatment outcomes of MDR-TB patients are followed forthwith to avoid jeopardizing TB control efforts where drug-resistant TB is highly prevalent. Factors contributing to the development of MDR-TB includes inefficient supervision/monitoring by healthcare providers, poor adherence due to adverse effects and social barriers, poor quality/storage conditions of anti-TB drugs, and poorly organized TB control program. Given the noncompliance to treatment due to sociological factors and poor dissemination of MDR-TB care, the study examines the efficiency of structured health education material on multi-drug resistant clients of Josefina Belmonte Duran Albay Provincial Hospital in Tabaco City, Philippines to ensure that the healthcare provider and client are both adherent to MDR-TB monitoring schemes. The paper demonstrates the degree of understanding of MDR-TB patients on multi-drug resistant tuberculosis by administering a pretest and post-test design to compliant and non-compliant clients that are currently on treatment. Results showed that there is no significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores on MDR-TB health education assessment among compliant (0.387) and non-compliant (0.805) clients, which can be attributed to the client’s lack of existing knowledge about MDR-TB before the initiation of treatment. The low efficiency scores emphasized the need for tailored intervention and policy research on utilizing the structured health education material on regular training programs and instructional modules for health care workers in conducting health teaching, social mobilization, and counseling activities for the promotion and advocacy of early detection, contact tracing and case holding of MDR-TB patients.

Keywords: multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, infectious disease, health education, treatment adherence,

The paper demonstrates how to increase the engagement of MDR-TB patients with the TB community, family member, and healthcare workers by assessing their understanding how TB bacteria become resistant to one or more than one anti-TB drugs such as isoniazid and rifampin and how it will affect their treatment progress.