Barriers to Uptake of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (DRTB) services and Care in Nigeria: Lessons Learnt from Implementation of Community Management of DR TB Patients

Objectives: This article examines the barriers to uptake of DRTB baseline and follow-up tests for DRTB patients in Nigeria. Methodology: The study involved all the Local Government Areas (LGAs} in 35 Nigerian states and the FCT where community DRTB intervention is implemented. Purposeful sampling technique was employed and included all DRTB patients currently on treatment. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire. The data analysis was done using SPSS version 22 for running the univariate analysis and reported in frequencies and percentages. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics, frequency distribution tables and presented in tables. Results: The finding showed that 55.9% of the patients had difficulty accessing the baseline investigation tests. 49% reported lack of transport fare while 47.4% reported that the lab facility where the baseline was conducted was too far from their homes. About 58.8% of the respondents stayed up to 1-2 weeks after diagnosis before having the baseline investigation tests done and 61.4% of the patients did not always have money to go for follow-up tests Conclusion: This study showed gap between diagnosis and enrolment on treatment of patient with drug resistant Tuberculosis in Nigeria due to challenges in accessing pre-requisite baseline investigation tests. This has potential to result to loss-to-follow-up. There is need for decentralization to facilities close to where patients reside and more social support to the patients to ensure that all diagnosed patients are enrolled on treatment.