Patient-Pathway Analysis of Tuberculosis Services in Cameroon.
Trop Med Infect Dis
; 6(4)2021 Sep 22.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34698249
ABSTRACT
In Cameroon, in 2019, tuberculosis (TB) treatment coverage was estimated at 53%, indicating that almost half of all people sick with TB were not diagnosed or linked to care. To inform strategies to improve access to TB services, we conducted an evaluation of the alignment between patient-initiated care-seeking behavior and spatial and institutional allocation of TB services. Data sources included the Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey (2018), the Health Facility List (2017), and routinely collected TB surveillance data. Data visualization was performed in Tableau and QGIS. The pathway analysis showed that only an estimated 9% of people attended a health facility providing TB services at initial care-seeking, with access varying from <3% to 16% across the ten regions of the country. While 72% of government and 56% of private hospitals (Level 2 facilities) provide TB services, most Cameroonians (87%) initially chose primary care (Level 1) or informal private sector sites (Level 0) without TB services. The gaps were greatest in regions with the highest prevalence of poverty, a significant determinant for TB. These results indicate that access may be improved by expanding TB services at both public and private facilities across the country, prioritizing regions with the greatest gaps.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article