Table 4.

Summary of key features from in-depth interviews.

TB patient	Age/sex	Persons in household	Time spent in Russian Fed. before illness	Employment abroad	Income abroad (USD/month)	Living conditions abroad	Medical insurance or benefits abroad	Where TB diagnosed	Financial implications due to TB disease	Notes
1	32 years man	10	5 months	Construction worker in hospitals	~300	Shared room with 4-5 persons	Free treatment in hospital under construction	Tajikistan	Family suffers due to lost income and cost of treatment.	Felt sick two times in Russian Federation and returned to Tajikistan for treatment.
2	25 years man	4	5 years	Loader in supermarket	~660	Shared apartment with 8 persons	No insurance, no benefits	Tajikistan		Returned from Russian Federation after feeling sick (fear of deportation). Now, still infectious after 6-month treatment. Poor hospital conditions.
3	33 years man	28	16 years	Salesman in supermarket	~2000	Small house with wife and 3 children	Medical insurance	Russian Federation	Spent all money saved during 18 years working and living in Russian Federation.	8-month treatment in an expensive private clinic in Russian Federation. On retreatment regimen.
4	23 years women	8	2 years	Housemaid	~500	Shared apartment with 7 persons	Early 2009	Tajikistan		On retreatment regimen.
5	32 years man	8	6 years	Unskilled labourer in private company	~580	Shared apartment with 4 people	No insurance, no benefits	Russian Federation	Family had to sell livestock because of the cost of diagnostics, injections, and ancillary treatment.	On retreatment regimen. Poor hospital conditions.
6	19 years man	6	2 years	Guard in private construction company	Enough to live and travel back home	Shared room with 3-4 persons in the building under construction	No insurance, no benefits	Russian Federation	Family pays for X-ray examinations and vitamins.	Refused hospital treatment because in poor conditions.
7	18 years man	3	2 years	Painter in private construction company	~250	Shared room with 3 persons in the building under construction	No insurance, no benefits	Tajikistan	Needed to borrow money to pay X-ray and sputum examination, vitamin, and hospital.	Work of last months not paid because returned to Tajikistan.
8	43 years man	4	3 years	Engine fitter in private construction company	Enough to live and send some money home	Shared room with 12 persons	No insurance, no benefits	Tajikistan	Had spent all money earned in Russian Federation on his TB treatment.
9	27 years man	4	5 years	Unskilled labourer in private company	~800	Shared room with 4 persons in the building under construction	No insurance, no benefits	Russian Federation	Had to pay X-ray, vitamin, and other drugs.	Diagnosed in Russian Federation, returned because of the expensive treatment there.
10	29 years man	8	6 years	Unskilled labourer in private company	~400	Barrack shared with 10 persons	No insurance, no benefits	Russian Federation	Needed to borrow money to pay chest X-ray and sputum examination, vitamin, and hospital.	Started treatment in Russian Federation, then returned because of the expensive treatment.