The relationship of socio-economic status on contraction of Tuberculosis among TB patients in Windhoek District, Namibia: a public health practice perspective

Type Journal Article - Online Journal of Medicine and Medical Science Research
Title The relationship of socio-economic status on contraction of Tuberculosis among TB patients in Windhoek District, Namibia: a public health practice perspective
Author(s)
Volume 3
Issue 2
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
Page numbers 8-12
URL http://41.205.129.132/bitstream/handle/11070/1642/Murimba_2014.pdf?sequence=1
Abstract
The purpose for this study was to identify the risk factors of inpatients infected with Tuberculosis at
Katutura Intermediate Hospital in Windhoek district, Namibia. A quantitative descriptive study was
conducted among patients from the Windhoek district who were on first-line treatment for Tuberculosis
at Katutura Intermediate Hospital, during the period of the study (June-August 2011). The universal
sampling method was used and all 38 inpatients with Tuberculosis participated in the study. The socioeconomic
factors which are conducive to the transmission of Tuberculosis infection among the
participants were identified and described. The findings revealed that the highest rate of TB infection
was among the participants of the most productive age of 21-50 years. Moreover, the majority (70%) of
the participants were the residents of the severely poverty stricken informal settlements in the
Windhoek district. Consequently, the results concluded that lack of education, subsequent
unemployment, low wages, poor housing and poor nutrition, alcohol abuse, smoking among the
participants seem to fuel the high rate of infection with Tuberculosis, while stigma that is associated
with the disease delays seeking of treatment.

Related studies

»