Рsychological and social factors of adherence to treatment in patients with drug-sensitive tuberculosis during the intensive phase of chemotherapy

The aim of the study was to investigate the characteristics of treatment adherence, the unmet needs in the socio-economic domain, and to determine the presence of an association between these factors during the intensive phase of chemotherapy in patients with tuberculosis exhibiting preserved drug sensitivity of the pathogen.

Materials and methods. The study involved patients aged 26 to 67 years (N=130, M_age=42.9 years, SD=9.6) with a newly established diagnosis of drug-sensitive respiratory tuberculosis at the start of the intensive phase of treatment. Psychodiagnostic methods included the «Compliance Level» technique by R. V. Kadyrov, O. B. Asriyan, and S. A. Kovalchuk; the «Level of Social Frustration» scales (USF-1, USF-2). Data analysis comprised descriptive statistics (frequency analysis) and correlational analysis (methods of paired and partial correlations). Data processing — IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.

Results and discussion. A diffuse type, oriented towards mechanistic adherence to the physician’s prescriptions, characterizes patients’ attitudes toward the illness. It was established that treatment adherence in patients with drug-sensitive respiratory tuberculosis during the intensive phase of chemotherapy is closely associated with the level of dissatisfaction in the socio-economic domain of life.

Conclusions. The complex of frustrations and barriers identified during the study exerts a direct negative impact on patients’ adherence to treatment, which in turn underscores the necessity for social and clinical-psychological support for patients from the very first day of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy. Which, in turn, will make the tuberculosis treatment process less psychologically traumatic for the patient, reduce the level of dissatisfaction, and strengthen treatment adherence.

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