Table 3.

Patient and provider opinions on possible reasons for incomplete sputum smear microscopy monitoring

Items	n
Patient perspective: reasons why patient sputum monitoring was not performed (n = 46, multiple responses allowed)
Did not have transport	15
Not able to produce sputum	10
Long waiting times for previous results	8
Time it took to get to the health facility	5
Power shortages	3
Did not know	3
Laboratory staff was away	2
Provider perspective: reasons why providers did not perform sputum monitoring (n = 36, multiple responses allowed)
Patient failed to produce sputum	28
Patient did not come back to the clinic	26
Lack of materials (e.g., reagents, slides, microscope, cups)	7
Power shortages	4
Patient came when the laboratory was closed	4
Laboratory staff was not available	2
Provider perspective: reasons about why patients missed sputum monitoring (n = 25)
Long waiting times for sputum results	9
Patients were given insufficient education about the importance of sputum monitoring at start of treatment	6
Some health workers were not interested in TB patients	3
Health workers in out-patient department did not submit requests for sputum	2
Patients did not return and were represented by relatives instead	2
Laboratory staff did not want to examine sputum	2
Health workers did not know when sputum follow-up should be performed	1
Challenges providers faced when recording sputum results in the unit tuberculosis register (n = 36)
Results were not available on the same day.	20
Provider forgot to record results in the unit register	10
Provider did not know how to fill in the register	5
Provider did not know that it was necessary	1