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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Individual, household and community level factors associated with keeping tuberculosis status secret in Ghana

Author: Joshua Amo-Adjei

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

In tuberculosis (TB) control, early disclosure is recommended for the purposes of treatment as well as a means of reducing or preventing person-to-person transmission of the bacteria. However, disclosure maybe avoided as a means of escaping stigma, and possible discrimination. This study aimed at providing insights into factors associated with intentions of Ghanaians to keep positive TB diagnosis in their families’ a secret.

Methods

The paper was based on data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive statistics of proportions with Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to identify individual, household and community level factors that predicted the outcome variable (keeping TB secret).

Results

Women were more inclined (33%) than men (25%) to keep TB in the family a secret. Views about keeping TB secret declined with age for both sexes. For women, higher education had a positive association with whether TB in the family would be kept a secret or not but the same was not observed for men. In a multivariable regression model, the strongest predictor of keeping TB secret was whether the respondent would keep HIV secret, and this was uniform among women (OR = 6.992, p < 0.001) and men (OR = 9.870, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Unwillingness towards disclosing TB status in Ghana is associated with varied socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, which may be driven by fears of stigma and discrimination. Addressing TB-related stigma and discrimination can enhance positive attitudes towards TB disclosure. For an infectious disease such as TB, openness towards status disclosure is important for public health.
Footnotes
1
Enablers support is a kind of incentives provided to TB patients in the course of treatment. These may include call vouchers, food and transportation allowance to facilitate the treatment process. These incentives are intended to reduce patient default particularly among the very poor who may default treatment due to financial difficulties.
 
2
Akans are one of the ethnic groups in Ghana; they constitute about 47% of Ghana’s population
 
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Metadata
Title
Individual, household and community level factors associated with keeping tuberculosis status secret in Ghana
Author
Joshua Amo-Adjei
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3842-y

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