Background Tuberculosis(TB)care could be considered as a continuum from symptom recognition,decision to seek care,diagnosis,treatment initiation and treatment completion,with care along the continuum influenced by sev...Background Tuberculosis(TB)care could be considered as a continuum from symptom recognition,decision to seek care,diagnosis,treatment initiation and treatment completion,with care along the continuum influenced by several factors.Gender dimensions could influence TB care,and indeed,more men than women are diagnosed with TB each year.The study was done to identify social stratifiers that intersect with gender to influence TB care.Methods A cross-sectional qualitative study was done at four health facilities in 3 districts in central Uganda between October 2020 and December 2020.Data was collected from patients seeking a diagnosis or on TB treat-ment through focus group discussions and key informant interviews.Key themes around gender guided by a gender and intersectionality lens were developed and thereafter thematic content analysis was done.Results Women have increased vulnerability to TB due to bio mass exposure through roles like cooking.Women have increased access to health care services as they interface with the health care system frequently given their role as child bearers and child care givers.Men have a duty to provide for their families and this most often is prioritised over healthcare seeking,and together with belief that they are powerful beings leads to poor healthcare seeking hab-its and delays in healthcare seeking.Decisions on when and where to seek care were not straightforward for women,who most often rely on their husbands/partners to make decisions.Conclusions Men and women experience challenges to TB care,and that these challenges are deeply rooted in roles assigned to them and further compounded by masculinity.These challenges need to be addressed through intersec-tional gender responsive interventions if TB control is to be improved.展开更多
文摘Background Tuberculosis(TB)care could be considered as a continuum from symptom recognition,decision to seek care,diagnosis,treatment initiation and treatment completion,with care along the continuum influenced by several factors.Gender dimensions could influence TB care,and indeed,more men than women are diagnosed with TB each year.The study was done to identify social stratifiers that intersect with gender to influence TB care.Methods A cross-sectional qualitative study was done at four health facilities in 3 districts in central Uganda between October 2020 and December 2020.Data was collected from patients seeking a diagnosis or on TB treat-ment through focus group discussions and key informant interviews.Key themes around gender guided by a gender and intersectionality lens were developed and thereafter thematic content analysis was done.Results Women have increased vulnerability to TB due to bio mass exposure through roles like cooking.Women have increased access to health care services as they interface with the health care system frequently given their role as child bearers and child care givers.Men have a duty to provide for their families and this most often is prioritised over healthcare seeking,and together with belief that they are powerful beings leads to poor healthcare seeking hab-its and delays in healthcare seeking.Decisions on when and where to seek care were not straightforward for women,who most often rely on their husbands/partners to make decisions.Conclusions Men and women experience challenges to TB care,and that these challenges are deeply rooted in roles assigned to them and further compounded by masculinity.These challenges need to be addressed through intersec-tional gender responsive interventions if TB control is to be improved.
