Amare Desalegne, Addis Alene Kefyalew, Ambaw Fentie
School of Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
School of Population Health, Curtin University, Australia.
Prev Med Rep. 2023 May 15;34:102231. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102231. eCollection 2023 Aug.
Many people with tuberculosis (TB) rely solely on traditional healthcare services. Integrating traditional healthcare with modern healthcare services can increase access, quality, continuity, consumer satisfaction, and efficiency. However, successful integration of traditional healthcare with modern healthcare services requires stakeholder acceptance. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the acceptability of integrating traditional care with modern TB care in the South Gondar zone, the Amhara Regional State, northwest Ethiopia. Data were collected from patients with TB, traditional healers, religious leaders, healthcare providers, and TB program personnel. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions from January to May 2022. A total of 44 participants were included in the study. The context and perspectives of integration were thematized into the following five major themes: 1) referral linkage, 2) collaboration in awareness creation in the community, 3) collaboration in monitoring and evaluation of integration, 4) maintaining continuity of care and support, and 5) knowledge and skill transfer. Integrating traditional and modern TB care was acceptable to both modern and traditional healthcare providers as well as TB service users. This may be an effective strategy for improving the TB case detection rate by decreasing diagnosis delay, treatment initiation, and catastrophic costs.
许多结核病患者仅依赖传统医疗服务。将传统医疗与现代医疗服务相结合可以增加可及性、提高质量、增强连续性、提升消费者满意度并提高效率。然而,要成功地将传统医疗与现代医疗服务相结合,需要利益相关者的认可。因此,本研究旨在探讨在埃塞俄比亚西北部阿姆哈拉州南贡德尔地区将传统护理与现代结核病护理相结合的可接受性。数据收集自结核病患者、传统治疗师、宗教领袖、医疗服务提供者和结核病项目人员。2022年1月至5月,通过深入访谈和焦点小组讨论收集数据。共有44名参与者纳入研究。整合的背景和观点被归纳为以下五个主要主题:1)转诊联系,2)社区宣传合作,3)整合监测与评估合作,4)维持护理和支持的连续性,5)知识和技能转移。现代和传统医疗服务提供者以及结核病服务使用者都接受将传统和现代结核病护理相结合。这可能是一种通过减少诊断延迟、治疗启动和灾难性费用来提高结核病病例发现率的有效策略。