Assessment of tuberculosis treatment accessibility for patients co-infected or not with the human immunodeficiency virus

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate accessibility to treatment for people with TB co-infected or not with HIV. This cross-sectional study addressed issues regarding accessibility to treatment in a city in the interior of São Paulo state, Brazil. The instrument Primary Care Assessment Tool was utilized with 95 people. To evaluate access to treatment, Student's t test was used. The mean scores of variables were analyzed separately and compared between two groups (people with TB co-infected with HIV and people with TB not co-infected with HIV ). Mean scores showed that HIV co-infected people presented greater difficulties in gaining access than those not co-infected. Professionals visited co-infected people more often when compared to those not co-infected; the co-infected people almost never accessed treatment for their disease in the Health Unit nearest their home. There is, therefore, the need for greater integration and communication between the programs for treatment of Tuberculosis and STD/AIDS.