Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University.
Uganda-Case Western Reserve University Research Collaboration.
Afr Health Sci. 2023 Dec;23(4):21-27. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v23i4.4.
The current six months regimen for drug-susceptible tuberculosis (TB) is long, complex, and requires adherence monitoring. TB hair drug level assay is one innovative approach to monitor TB treatment adherence however, its acceptability in the context of African multi-cultural settings is not known.
To determine the acceptability of hair harvest and testing as a TB therapeutic drug monitoring method.
The study explored perceptions, and lived experiences among TB patients with regard to using hair harvest and testing as a method of tuberculosis therapeutic drug monitoring in the context of their cultural beliefs, and faith. We used a descriptive phenomenological approach.
Four main themes emerged namely: participants' perceptions about the cultural meaning of their body parts; perceptions about hair having any medical value or meaning; perceptions about hospitals starting to use hair harvest and testing for routine hospital TB treatment adherence monitoring; and perceived advantages and disadvantages of using hair for treatment adherence monitoring. Overall, we found that using hair to monitor adherence was acceptable to TB patients provided the hair was harvested and tested by a medical worker.
Hair harvest for medical testing is acceptable to TB patients on the condition that it is conducted by a medical worker.
目前，治疗敏感型肺结核（TB）的六个月疗程既漫长又复杂，且需要监测用药依从性。TB 头发药物水平检测是一种创新性的方法，可以监测 TB 治疗的依从性，但在非洲多元文化背景下，其接受度尚不清楚。
确定头发采集和检测作为 TB 治疗药物监测方法的可接受性。
本研究在参与者的文化信仰背景下，探讨了 TB 患者对使用头发采集和检测作为肺结核治疗药物监测方法的看法和亲身经历。我们采用了描述性现象学方法。
出现了四个主要主题，即：参与者对身体部位的文化意义的看法；对头发具有任何医疗价值或意义的看法；对医院开始使用头发采集和检测进行常规医院 TB 治疗依从性监测的看法；以及对使用头发进行治疗依从性监测的优势和劣势的看法。总的来说，我们发现，只要头发是由医务人员采集和检测的，那么使用头发来监测依从性是可以被 TB 患者接受的。
只要头发是由医务人员采集和检测的，那么对 TB 患者来说，头发采集用于医疗检测是可以接受的。
