Table.
Baseline study of socio-economic barriers to TB control comparing TB patients, their household contacts and randomly selected community controls prior to the socio-economic interventions*
| TB patients % (n/N) |
Household contacts % (n/N) |
Community controls % (n/N) |
P values |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients vs. contacts |
Patients vs. controls |
Contacts vs. controls |
||||
| Income <1US$/person/day† | 46 (426/932) | † | 32 (149/471) | † | <0.0001 | † |
| Poverty (high multi dimensional score)‡ | 39 (358/921) | 33 (592/2035) | 25 (114/461) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.06 |
| Any depression§ | 40 (276/691) | 26 (50/193) | 26 (124/478) | 0.0004 | <0.0001 | 0.9 |
| Severe depression§ | 12 (83/691) | 9 (17/193) | 6 (29/478) | 0.2 | 0.0007 | 0.2 |
| TB stigma experienced¶ | 77 (546/708) | 72 (1026/1429) | § | 0.01 | § | § |
| Severe TB stigma (high stigma score)¶ | 37 (265/708) | 17 (237/1429) | § | <0.0001 | § | § |
| Isolation (low social capital score)# | 39 (401/1029) | 26 (63/239) | 24 (100/424) | 0.0003 | <0.0001 | 0.4 |
All data were assessed by questionnaires in the first interview, except for stigma, which was assessed in the last month of each patient’s treatment. The poverty, stigma and social capital scores were generated using principal component analysis in which non-contributory survey questions were eliminated iteratively. Scores were then generated based on first principal component.29 High and low scores were defined as respectively the highest and lowest terciles. The denominators differ between variables, as not all data were collected from all participants in the baseline studies.
Self-reported income was shared within households and could not therefore be differentiated between patients and their household contacts.
The multi-dimensional poverty score included education, housing conditions, basic services and assets using a total of 13 variables.
Depression was assessed with the 20-question Beck Depression Inventory that was applied during each participant’s first interview by the project team. Standard cut-offs for this questionnaire were used to define any depression and severe depression.
TB-related stigma experienced and perceived in the home and community was assessed using 22 questions. Controls did not have TB and their experience of TB-related stigmatisation was therefore not assessed.
The social capital score summarised 83 questions encompassing the micro, meso and macro-levels of social capital, including support, perceived safety and trust. TB = tuberculosis.