Sammendrag
Abstract
Tuberculosis is still a significant and growing health problem in Vietnam. Vietnam is among the 22 High Burden Countries with high prevalence of tuberculosis according to the WHO’s annual report for 2004. The aim of this study is to find out what impact tuberculosis has on the patients’ life and what problems patients meet when they go through the tuberculosis treatment.
The study was conducted in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The study included 20 patients from the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease and 24 patients from the District Tuberculosis Unit in Hanoi. There were 31 males and 13 females with age from 15 to 82. The study was conducted using the qualitative method with semi-structured guide.
The results from the study showed that tuberculosis has a deep impact on the psychological, social and economical side of the patients’ life. The most burdening psychological impact was the experienced and fear for stigma and social isolation from the people around. Tuberculosis presented a huge economical burden for a good deal of patients because of the expensive hospitalization and because the patients couldn’t go to work.
The problems the patients met when conducting the treatment were both psychological and practical.
The study showed that there is a need for active intervention to reduce the psychological burdens that the tuberculosis patients experience from the community.
The tuberculosis control program ought to develop a system that protects the patients’ private information better as well as taking their individual needs more into account.