Title:
Tuberculosis in the Netherlands: An assessment of risk factors and treatment completion among migrants and native Dutch
Authors:
Borg, Maarten
Place:
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Publisher:
KIT - Royal Tropical Institute [etc.]
Year:
2023
PAGE:
58
Language:
En
Subject:
Health and Poverty
Keywords:
Tuberculosis, Undocumented Migrant, Treatment Outcome, Regression Analysis, Time to Treatment
Abstract:
Introduction Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that annually affects over 10 million people worldwide and kills over 1.5 million people yearly. Effectively addressing the tuberculosis epidemic requires good quality treatment and facilitating accessibility of care. The disease is curable with an intensive 6 months course of antibiotic treatment; however up to 50% of patients do not complete their treatment. Most patients live in low and middle income countries with a high incidence of tuberculosis. In the Netherlands – a low incidence country for tuberculosis- tuberculosis yearly affects hundreds of people, mostly vulnerable groups like migrants, refugees and prisoners Methodology In order to assess accessibility of health services and quality of care, a retrospective analysis of surveillance data concerning Dutch patients with tuberculosis was conducted. All included patients were stratified according to 3 strata: undocumented migrants, documented migrants and the native Dutch population in order to compare results among migrants with the native Dutch population. Extensive literature research followed by baseline analysis including risk factors, patient delay and treatment outcomes in a cohort of 12546 patients was performed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess effect of treatment interventions and other risk factors among which legal status on treatment completion. Results Treatment completion reached over 80 %, undocumented migrants had a longer patient delay and legal status was not significantly associated with treatment completion. Discussion Treatment support was the most important intervention for improving treatment completion. Policies should aim to improve accessibility of health services for hard to reach groups.
Organization:
KIT - Royal Tropical Institute , VU - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Institute:
KIT (Royal Tropical Institute)
Country:
The Netherlands
Region:
Northwestern Europe
Training:
Master of Science in Public Health (MPH)
Category:
Research
Right:
@ 2023 Borg
Document type:
Thesis/dissertation
File:
gJA3BY6LNL_20231105124202637.pdf