| dc.description.abstract | Globally, the control of Tuberculosis (TB) has remained a public health challenge despite numerous
prevention and treatment programs. Kenya is ranked among countries with a high TB burden globally
and has the highest incidences of all types of tuberculosis compared to other East African Countries.
The high prevalence of TB in Kenya been attributed to delays in the diagnosis of TB. The
consequence of the delays has been the increased spread of the disease, disease advancement, poor
treatment outcomes, and high cost of patient treatment and care the affected populations. The aim of
this study was to assess patient related factors influencing timely diagnosis of TB in Tharaka Nithi
County. Tharaka Nithi County is among the counties with the highest prevalence of TB in Kenya. The
study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey study design. A sample of 154 patients randomly
selected from three hospitals in Tharaka Nithi County was used. A self-administered questionnaire
was used to collect data. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.
Associations between patient related factors and duration of TB before diagnosis was tested using
Chi-square. The study findings revealed that most (70.86%) of TB patients had delayed diagnosis.
Persistent cough was the major sign that led patients to seek for care, while believe that signs and
symptoms would disappear was major reason for delay in seeking treatment and care. Sex, age,
marital status, employment, self-medication, stigma, work and smoking history were the patients
related factors significantly associated with timely diagnosis of TB (P<0.05). The study recommends
promotion of care seeking behavior through raising public awareness on tuberculosis, enhancing
active case findings, strengthening community-hospital referral systems, boosting health system
partnerships for early detection of TB. | en_US |
