Ramraj Balaji, Nagarajan Karikalan, Purakayastha Debjani Ram, Madhukar Major, Kumar Makesh, Raj Neha, Kumar Sarath, Unger Banappa S, Rajamani Nithin, Bangar Sampada Dipak, Periyasamy Murugesan, Choudhary Hansraj, Santhoshkumar Yasaswany, Kumar Ramesh, Sahay Seema, Gupta Nivedita, Padmapriyadarsini Chandrasekaran
ICMR National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai 600031, India.
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2025 Apr 21;10(4):114. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed10040114.
Evidence on the implementation aspects of nutritional support interventions for persons with TB in India is limited. This qualitative study employed focus group discussions with persons with TB (n = 71), their family caregivers (n = 17), and healthcare providers (n = 18). The study was conducted from August 2023 to April 2024 in five states in India. Participants' knowledge, perceptions, and practices about nutritional intake, experiences, and expectations when accessing nutritional support were explored. Four nutrition-related themes emerged: (a) the experiences and perceptions of persons with tuberculosis and their caregivers, explained by their understanding of the importance of adequate nutrition and TB cures; (b) changes in food practices, explained by protein food adoption, alongside food insecurity experienced by those in poverty; (c) Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)-related issues, explained by insufficiency and access-related gaps; and (d) preferred choices for nutrition support delivery, explained by less preference towards the involvement of intermediaries and a public distribution system alongside preference for the provision of nutrition through treatment facilities. Our findings underscore the importance of the provision of protein-rich food and an increase in financial support based on needs assessments. Mitigating the linkage and access gaps in DBT is needed. The delivery of ready-to-consume food through tuberculosis treatment facilities could be prioritized.
印度针对结核病患者营养支持干预措施实施方面的证据有限。这项定性研究采用了与结核病患者（n = 71）、其家庭护理人员（n = 17）和医疗服务提供者（n = 18）进行焦点小组讨论的方式。该研究于2023年8月至2024年4月在印度的五个邦开展。探讨了参与者在获取营养支持时关于营养摄入、经历及期望的知识、认知和做法。出现了四个与营养相关的主题：（a）结核病患者及其护理人员的经历和认知，这可由他们对充足营养与结核病治愈重要性的理解来解释；（b）饮食做法的变化，这可由蛋白质类食物的采用以及贫困者经历的粮食不安全来解释；（c）与直接福利转移（DBT）相关的问题，这可由资金不足和获取方面的差距来解释；（d）营养支持提供的首选方式选择，这可由对中介机构和公共分配系统参与度较低的偏好以及对通过治疗机构提供营养的偏好来解释。我们的研究结果强调了根据需求评估提供富含蛋白质食物及增加资金支持的重要性。需要缩小直接福利转移中的联系和获取差距。可优先考虑通过结核病治疗机构提供即食食品。
