Tuberculosis Treatment for Mexican Americans Living on the U.S.–Mexico Border

Abstract

The findings support the importance of addressing stigma and the resulting sense of isolation in patients being treated for TB, perhaps through bolstering support from family and healthcare providers, which is relevant for public health professionals working in regions with high rates of TB.

Perceived stigma and depression in initially diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients

“…These results are similar to those of other studies that found that, when diagnosed with TB, a patient will regard TB with stigma and refrain from interacting with others and telling others about their condition. These results support the correlation between the patient's knowledge, attitude, and feeling about TB and TB stigma (Courtwright & Turner, ; Kibrisli et al., ; Murray et al., ; Wang & Gorenstein, ; Wynne et al., ; Xiao et al., ; Zuñiga et al., ). Finally, these results also suggest that patient‐perceived TB stigma is correlated with TB knowledge and community attitude towards TB.…”

“…As noted, when diagnosed with TB, patients will often hide the fact of the disease from others and, thus, isolate themselves to avoid negative public perceptions, disruption of work, and bringing shame to families and friends, which can have an impact on their physical, financial, social and mental health. These impacts are especially severe in terms of the maintenance of physical functions and emotions, and the occurrence of a mental illness, such as depression, can be found in as many as 70% of patients with TB (Doherty et al, 2013;Gerrish et al, 2013;Kibrisli et al, 2015;McArthur et al, 2016;Moya & Lusk, 2013;Murray et al, 2013;Zuñiga, Muñoz, Johnson, & Garcia, 2014).…”

A Personal Touch: The Most Important Strategy for Recruiting Latino Research Participants

“…In our study conducted along the U.S. border with Mexico (Zuñiga, Muñoz, Johnson, & García, 2014), not a single participant indicated that they responded to the daily advertisements in a bilingual newspaper or to radio spots that were run several times a day for several weeks. For another of our studies (García, Brown, Horner, Zuñiga, & Arheart, 2015), which did not use radio advertisements, a few participants reported they had enrolled in the study after hearing about it on the radio.…”

“…In fact, direct contact with the potential participants was the only successful method for Zuñiga et al’s (2014) study that recruited low-income and predominantly Spanish-speaking outpatients on the Texas–Mexico border. When the researcher was not physically present at the clinic, no participants were recruited, despite staff’s efforts.…”

Tuberculosis Treatment Completion in a United States/Mexico Binational Context

“…Arizona reports a comparable TB treatment completion rate of 86.3% in 2015 (4). The rigors of TB treatment have been demonstrated to complicate seeking medical attention and treatment adherence particularly among individuals with a high degree of familism, which is a Mexican cultural expectation (8). Qualitative data collected at the U.S./Mexico border indicates TB treatment resulted in feelings of isolation from loved ones, ostracization from community members, loneliness, and conceptualization of “filthiness” (9).…”