Tuberculosis Family Support Training’s (TB FaST) Influence on Encouraging TB Treatment Compliance

Abstract

Background: Family support is necessary for tuberculosis (TB) treatment compliance. Family intentions and practices in providing support to TB patients require considerable improvement, which is possible via training. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the influence of tuberculosis family support training (TB FaST) on the family members’ intentions and practices in encouraging TB treatment compliance in the continuation phase. Methods: This quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design involved 56 TB patients and 56 family members of patients who had undergone the continuation phase of category 1 TB treatment in the third and fourth months. All patients treated with tuberculosis were directly observed with treatment short-course (TB DOTS) at primary health care. All the subjects were divided into intervention and control groups. TB FaST was given only to the intervention group and delivered using a combination of lectures, case-based focused group discussions, and role-playing in problem-solving over two consecutive days. Results: The result showed a significant improvement in the family support practices five weeks after training in the intervention group compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, only a slight improvement was observed in the family intentions (p>0.05). Conclusion: TB FaST mainly affects the practices of family members in providing family support to encourage TB treatment compliance in the continuation phase. We recommend that TB FaST or other educational tools be used again after TB FaST to improve intention.