TY - JOUR AU - Oo, May Chan AU - Tun, Kyaw Zarni AU - Ko, Kyaw Ko AU - Aung, Pyae Linn PY - 2020/06/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Delayed care-seeking and its underlying factors among patients with tuberculosis in Yangon, Myanmar JF - The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries JA - J Infect Dev Ctries VL - 14 IS - 06 SE - Original Articles DO - 10.3855/jidc.12663 UR - https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/32683354 SP - 631-641 AB - <p>Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health problem in Myanmar. Early care-seeking behaviors play a significant role in reducing TB transmission and speeding recovery. This study was conducted to estimate the proportion of patients with TB who delayed care-seeking and to identify underlying factors.</p><p>Methodology: The study population included patients with TB treated in a TB diagnostic center in April 2015. A total of 346 patients were chosen as eligible respondents. The data were collected using structured questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. In addition to descriptive statistics, chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression were performed to show any associations.</p><p>Results: The study revealed that 66.8% of patients delayed care-seeking, and the average duration of delay was 21 days. Using the chi-squared test, factors such as education, occupation, family income, knowledge of TB, possessing information about TB, having a family member or close friend contract TB, travel distance, and cost causing a burden were significantly associated with delayed care-seeking (p &lt; 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis found that 4 variables exhibited significant associations: low levels of education, occupation as government staff member, possessing information about TB, and having a family member or close friend contract TB (p &lt; 0.05).</p><p>Conclusion: The results from this study provide useful comprehensive information addressing underlying factors associated with delayed care-seeking behaviors. These can be used to advance health education interventions regarding TB and strengthen early diagnosis of TB within community settings.</p> ER -