Tadele Eticha and Eden Kassa
Background: Non-adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment in TB/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfected patients greatly affect treatment outcome. It can lead to an increased risk of drug resistance which is difficult to treat and contribute to increased mortality. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with non-adherence to anti-TB drugs among TB/HIV co-infected patients in Mekelle, Ethiopia.
Methods: A health institution based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mekelle from March to April 2013. Consecutive sampling was used to select respondents. Data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 software.
Results: The prevalence of non-adherence to anti-TB medications among TB/HIV co-infected patients was 55.8% in a 5-day period prior to the interview. From logistic regression models, patients who had no caregivers (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=3.73, 95% CI=1.15-12.11) and people to remind them to take their medications (AOR=11.15, 95% CI=1.66-74.91) were more likely to be non-adherent. The major reasons cited for missing medicines were forgetting to take medications, felt sick when take the medications and far away from health facilities.
Conclusions: The prevalence of non-adherence was high. TB/HIV co-infected patients should be targeted with interventions to improve medication adherence, particularly by supporting them to continue their treatment.
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