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Home / Public Health Action, Volume 12, Number 2

Open Access Causes of loss to follow-up from drug-resistant TB treatment in Khayelitsha, South Africa

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Patients initiated on drug-resistant TB(DR-TB) treatment in 2019 in Khayelitsha, South Africa, with a loss to follow-up outcome were evaluated to better understand reasons for loss to follow-up and to determine if any had returned to care. Of a total of 187 patients, 28 (15%) were lost to follow-up (LTFU), 24 (86%) of whom were traced: 20/24 (83%) were found when they re-presented to facilities and 8/28 (29%) were linked back to DR-TB care. People with DR-TB continue to seek care even after being LTFU; thus better coordination between different components of the healthcare system are required to re-engage with these patients. Interventions to mitigate the socio-economic challenges of people on DR-TB treatment are needed. Many people who were LTFU and symptomatic were willing to re-engage with DR-TB care, which highlights the importance of for compassionate interventions to welcome them back.

Keywords: lost from care; rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis; socio-economic support; substance use

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Khayelitsha, South Africa 2: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Khayelitsha, South Africa, MSF Southern Africa Medical Unit, Cape Town, South Africa 3: City of Cape Town Department of Health, Eastern Area, Cape Town, South Africa 4: Provincial Government of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa 5: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Publication date: June 21, 2022

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  • Public Health Action (PHA), The Union's quarterly Open Access journal, welcomes the submission of articles on operational research. It publishes high-quality scientific research on health services, providing new knowledge on how to improve access, equity, quality and efficiency of health systems and services.

    The Editors will consider any manuscript reporting original research on quality improvements, cost-benefit analysis, legislation, training and capacity building, with a focus on all relevant areas of public health (e.g. infection control, nutrition, TB, HIV, vaccines, smoking, COVID-19, microbial resistance, outbreaks etc).

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