The impact of social support on the health-related quality of life of adult patients with tuberculosis in Harare, Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

ObjectiveTuberculosis (TB) is the second prime cause of mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and remains a major worldwide public health problem. Unfortunately, patients with TB are at risk of poor mental health. However, patients who receive an adequate amount of social support are likely to have improved health outcomes. The study was done to establish how social support influences the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with TB in Harare, Zimbabwe. Data were collected from 332 TB patients and were analysed through structural equation modelling.ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 40.1 (SD 12.5) years and most were; males (53%), married (57.8%), educated (97.3%), unemployed (40.7%), stayed with family (74.4%), and reported of less than average levels of income (51.5%). Patients received the most significant amount of social support from the family. Patients also presented with lower HRQoL as they considerably reported of pain, anxiety and depression. The final model accounted for 68.8% of the variance. Despite methodological limitations, the study findings suggest that social support optimises patients’ HRQoL. Based on the patients’ responses, it was noted that patients presented with lower mental health, therefore, there is a need to develop and implement patient wellness interventions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3904-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Health-Related Quality of Life Based on EQ-5D Utility Score in Patients With Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review

“…In the studies finally selected for this review, additional affecting factors to HRQOL of TB, as well as TB treatment outcomes were reported. Quitting smoking, in the Awaisu et al (2012) study and social support, in the Zarova et al (2018) study could further increase utility weight. In Kittikraisak et al (2012), income levels and age groups (under 40 years of age, above) had a significant impact on HRQOL.…”

“…In the first screen stage, a total of 1,683 articles were excluded as they did not include specific HRQOL results using EQ-5D instruments. A fulltext screening was conducted for 27 articles, and finally, seven articles (Dion et al, 2004;Awaisu et al, 2012;Kittikraisak et al, 2012;Kastien-Hilka et al, 2017;Saleem et al, 2018;Zarova et al, 2018;Shedrawy et al, 2019) were selected which met the inclusion/exclusion criteria (Figure 1).…”

Quality of life with tuberculosis

“…Good communication, especially at time of diagnosis and initiating treatment, is necessary, and psychological counseling should be an integral part of TB management [101]. TB patients receiving adequate social support from family, friends and community are likely to have better QOL [102]. Hence, there may be a case of implementing wellness interventions at family and/or community level to improve QOL.…”

‘TB is a disease whichhidesin the body’: Qualitative data on conceptualisations of tuberculosis recurrence among patients in Zambia and South Africa

“…Specifically, there is a lack of data on contextual understandings of TB to better apprehend mis/conceptions about health and illness and push for culturally appropriate configurations of public health interventions (Hoddinott & Hesseling, 2018;Mason, Degeling, et al, 2015;Nyasulu et al, 2018). This paper speaks to emerging field of research into the quality of life of people, post-TB treatment completion (Kastien-Hilka et al, 2016;Zarova et al, 2018). We aim to contribute to this dearth in research by interrogating how people formerly having lived with TB, conceptualise TB disease and understand their risk of future TB infection.…”