Letter to the editor: Why we need to evaluate the quality of tuberculosis care in South Africa's private health sector

SOURCE: South African Medical Journal
OUTPUT TYPE: Journal Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2020
TITLE AUTHOR(S): J.Chikovore, A.Salomon, S.Jooste, T.Mkhombo, M.Pai, A.Daftary, J.Boffa, S.Moyo
KEYWORDS: PRIVATE HEALTH SERVICES, TUBERCULOSIS
DEPARTMENT: Public Health, Societies and Belonging (HSC)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 11232
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/15182
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/15182

If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.

Abstract

Poor-quality tuberculosis (TB) care is now a larger barrier to reducing mortality than poor access. South Africa (SA) has one of the highest TB burdens globally. Despite ongoing efforts to improve access to testing and treatment in primary care settings, only half of South Africans with drug-susceptible TB and 22% with rifampicin-resistant TB successfully navigate TB care pathways in the public sector. Furthermore, a recent study showed that 29% of South Africans with TB symptoms first report to the private sector.