The development of a scale assessing the risk of discontinuation of tuberculosis treatment

Abstract

Purpose: This study identified the reasons why tuberculosis (TB) patients withhold treatment in a bid to develop a assessment scale to select patients who needs nursing intervention in the early stage and decrease the risk of discontinuation of treatment. Sample: There were two samples. A sample of 191 patients with TB and having primary treatment and a second sample of N who were under re-treatment Methods: The study design included qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth interviews of TB patients under re-treatment. The quantitative data were collected from 191 patients with TB under primary treatment. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed 11 factors explaining 69.6% of total variance. These factors were categorized into four subgroups. A depression scale was used to establish concurrent validity. The depression scale had a positive relationship (r=54) with the discontinuing of primary treatment. The internal consistency reliability for the four subgroups was over .84. The confidence coefficient was Cronbach's α .95. The final scale was a self-reported four Likert scale including 50 items. Conclusion: Reliability and validity was established for the scale and the scale can be used to examine the risk of treatment discontinuation for TB. The scale is an important resource for nursing interventions in identifying and treating high risk clients.