Adherence to treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

Abstract

Introduction: The epidemiological situation of Tuberculosis (TB) in the world, as well as in Brazil, shows an important magnitude, adding to the growing problem of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB). TB is an enshrined example highlighting the social inequalities and limited access to health care. Adherence to treatment of MDR-TB is a crucial aspect of everyday health care and one of the greatest difficulties in controlling the disease. Objetive: To analyze the adherence process to the treatment for MDR-TB in a group of individuals who have successfully completed drug treatment; and propose alternatives for increasing the treatment adherence for MDR-TB. Methods: A qualitative study, developed in a Reference Center for Tuberculosis Control and MDR-TB in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. During the period of April - September 2012, testimonials were collected from individuals who experienced MDR-TB and who adhered to drug treatment until discharge for being cured. The reports were analyzed according to discourse analysis technique and interpreted in the light of hermeneutics-dialectics and the Theory of Social Determination of the Health-Disease Process. Results: Twenty-one (21) subjects were interviewed, 17 (80.9%) were male; 19 (90.4%) were in the productive age group; 11 (52.4%) had 9 or more years of schooling; 14 (66.7%) were out of work or unemployed during treatment and reported receiving aid, such as transportation vouchers and food baskets; 14 (66.7%) were accompanied by the Family Health Strategy; 18 (85.7%) had previous treatment for TB; 20 (95.2%) underwent the treatment of MDR-TB in the form Directly Observed, performed in the Basic Health Care Unit 19: (95.0%); 16 (76.2%) walked to the location for the Directly Observed Treatment; and 17 (80.9%) took 30 minutes for the displacement; 16 (76.1%) underwent treatment for 18 to 20 months; 7 (33.6%) had diseases other than MDR-TB; 4 (40.0%) were tobacco smokers and no subject was using alcohol during treatment. It was found that, as a product of how the work is done and life, there are a variety of issues that ultimately mediate the adherence process to the treatment, which are determined by relations of interdependence and subordination. Fundamentally, the treatment adherence for MDR-TB was due to the desire to live, given the inevitability of death; physical support, emotional/psychological and financial; and how the health service offers care and is organized for medical treatment. Conclusion: Adherence to medication treatment of MDR-TB is not limited to a strictly individual act of will, but it depends on how one lives life in society and their access to health services. The need to understand these processes to support the care practice of health professionals, involved in the treatment of people with MDR-TB, needs to be emphasized, particularly in nursing, in order to strengthen the membership and support the strategies for the control of MDR-TB.