Abstract:
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that has caused unprecedented suffering to millions of
people, not to mention its impact on the country’s economy. In spite of having a cure,
numerous deaths continue to occur as a result of this virulent disease. The disease has
outstripped HIV as the leading cause of death among infectious diseases. The main
purpose of the study was to find out how public discourse on tuberculosis affects the self-
disclosure and health-seeking behavior among TB patients. The study aimed to answer
the following research questions: How do TB patients, TB survivors, TB patients’ kin
and TB healthcare workers access information on the disease? What kind of information
do TB patients, TB survivors, TB patients’ kin and healthcare workers have about the
disease? How does public discourse on TB inhibit self-disclosure and health-seeking
among TB patients.The study adopted a qualitative approach to generate and analyze
data. Twenty five participants who included six TB patients, five TB survivors, eight TB
patients’ kin and six healthcare workers were selected to participate in the study using a
purposive sampling technique. Data was generated using unstructured interviews.
Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data, and some of the key emerging themes in
this study were that having TB was seen as a death sentence and a sign of bad luck or
witchcraft by most of the TB patients and TB survivors. Findings from this study indicate
that despite the existence of multiple channels of communication, majority of the TB
patients, TB survivors and TB patients’ kin got their TB knowledge from the health care
workers and friends. This study also established that despite the existence of multiple
channels of communication, both correct and incorrect information on tuberculosis was
evident in all the four different categories of respondents who were interviewed. The
study further revealed that health-seeking behavior of TB patients is largely determined
by the kind of information that they have about the disease. Majority of the survivors
reported that they would have avoided delay in seeking healthcare if they had access to
correct information about TB. Access to correct and timely information of TB is crucial
for the control of this disease. The major recommendation from the study is that public
awareness campaigns on tuberculosis need to be intensified all over the country so that
more and more people are not only able to access information on tuberculosis, but also
correct information about the disease.
