Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health problem that affects about 10 million people each year and is the highest mortality factor in the world, with around 1.2 million deaths in 2014. The main challenge for TB treatment in the past decade is multidrug resistance (MDR) or resistance to various drugs caused by several factors, one of which is poor compliance with treatment regimens. Client compliance in TB treatment is a major healing factor that can increase the success ratio of treatment and prevent drug resistance.
In 2015, there were around 330,910 TB cases in Indonesia, an increase of about 6,500 cases from the previous year with treatment success of around 85%. At the national level, East Java Province is one of the highest TB rates, namely 44,077 people in 2015 or the number two nationally after West Java. A total of 2,173 sufferers were children.
The discipline of the patient in carrying out the treatment is the key to healing, which is greatly influenced by the support of family and fellow sufferers. They can remind the importance of taking medicine on time and in the right dose. Some other ways to improve compliance with TB client treatment are peer counselling and individual planning management. Peer-based interventions are also associated with significant changes in compliance. Then, the influence of peers on a person’s attitudes, interests, and behaviour, in some cases, is greater than the influence of family. Therefore, our study aims to identify the effect of peer-group support on treatment compliance in pulmonary TB patients.
This study involved 36 respondents who were positive for pulmonary TB divided into two treatment and control groups. The research design was quasi-experimental with tests before and after the intervention. Criteria for inclusion from respondents were those suffering from pulmonary TB who received follow-up care for 3-6 months, aged 21-60 years, and could read or write. Patients with special conditions such as pregnancy and complications of hemoptysis, bronchiectasis, collapse, etc. were excluded from the study.
The intervention, which took place in a clinic in Bangkalan District, lasted about two weeks, consisting of four meetings with 30-45 minutes each. The intervention agenda includes opening, exposing the problem, sharing ideas, implementing the plan, and closing. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and McNemar tests with a significance level of less than 0.05.
The results of this study indicate that among the four subcategories of adherence (how to take medication, time to take medication, drug dosage, and compliance schedule), only time to take the medication in the treatment group. Before the intervention, 12 respondents (66%) took medication after eating. After the intervention, the number reduced to 3 (16.7). From these results it is known that peer support has an impact on medication adherence, especially in terms of taking medication.
Author: Gading Ekapuja Aurizki, S.Kep., Ns.
More information from this research can be seen in our writing at:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/246/1/012033
U. Hasanah, M. Makhfudli, L. Ni’mah, F. Efendi, and G. E. Aurizki (2019). Peer Group Support on the Treatment Adherence of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 246: 012033 http://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/246/1/012033
