Factors Affecting the Prevalence of the Tuberculosis Disease Among Patients Attending out Patient Department in Jinja Hospital.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of tuberculosis still poses a major health problem, that is responsible for high morbidity rates and mortality rates in Uganda. General objective: The general objective of the study was to determine the factors affecting the prevalence of tuberculosis disease among patients attending OPD at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. Method: The researcher used a cross –sectional study design employing quantitative approach for data collection. Results: A total of 384 patients were interviewed at OPD, Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. A total of 31[8%] respondents were found to be suffering from TB, while 353 (92%) were not suffering from TB. This prevalence of TB is considered significant because TB is a droplet infection. A cross tabulation between social economic factors and the prevalence of TB among patients.Factors like level of education, access to TB health care services and availability of drugs at a health facility were found to have a statistically significant association, (P>0.05).

A cross tabulation between the environmental factors and the prevalence of TB among patients living per house (X2=5.049, P=0.04) and living with a TB patient within the same house(X2=8.508, P=0.O16) were found to have statistically significant association (P<0.005>).

Conclusions and recommendations: The study concludes with some recommendation among which is that; the ministry of health should create awareness on signs and symptoms of TB with emphasis on persistent cough for more than two weeks and should therefore ensure that TB health care services are easily accessible to the community at village level other than district level.