Experiences of the parents caring for their children during a tuberculosis outbreak in high school: a qualitative study

Abstract

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) remains a serious epidemic in China. In the past five years, the number of TB infections in high school students is rising and thus high school students are becoming a high risk group of TB. Parents of children with TB have to endure high psychological pressures from the disease itself, children’s education, employment and life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological pressure of parents with high school students suffering from TB.MethodsA total of 22 parents who have been taking care of their children suffering from TB were interviewed and a framework approach was used to analyze the interviews.ResultsIn our study, 21/22 parents had low levels of understanding about TB; 22/22 were under psychological stress; and 20/22 stated that their daily life was impacted on TB.ConclusionsParents need to be given appropriate knowledge on TB and psychological counseling. Authorities should not only implement the therapeutic measures, but also focus on solving the psychological problems of patients and their families when a similar outbreak occurs.

Caretakers' perspectives of paediatric TB and implications for care-seeking behaviours in Southern Mozambique

“…The results also revealed the lack of knowledge regarding the aetiology of TB; this was especially exacerbated among caretakers of group C. However, despite having participated in a TB screening process, thus having been in contact with TB health professionals, caretakers of group A presented a similarly limited understanding of TB transmission to that of group C. In contrast, caretakers of group B presented a relatively high level of understanding, with over half of respondents reporting coughing as a form of transmission. These results disagree with findings from Asia, according to which only around 40% of caretakers of children recently diagnosed with TB in China and those under treatment of TB in India were aware of the disease transmission modes [ 11 , 12 ]. The differences in knowledge found in Mozambique suggest that group B was more exposed to biomedical knowledge of TB, given that they initiated TB treatment, which implies weekly visits to the NTP accompanied by counselling.…”

“…Although many eventually sought care, this process could have potentially resulted in delays. This inability to detect that the child is ill can be further aggravated by the fact that TB symptoms are sub-acute and insidious, being easily perceived as mundane, 'non-alarming' afflictions, which do not justify prompt care-seeking [ 6 , 11 , 34 ]. Finally, as caretaker's reactions to diagnosis revealed, the recurrent perception of TB as an illness of adults could further contribute to the misinterpretation of symptoms among children.…”

“…A minimum sample size of 10 caretakers per group was foreseen to fulfill the study objectives. The sample size was based on previous experience in reaching saturation while conducting similarly designed qualitative studies coupled by indications from the literature [ 6 , 7 , 11 ].…”

“…Few studies have examined the perceptions of local communities regarding the aetiology and prevention of TB[ 8 – 10 ], and even fewer address paediatric TB[ 11 , 12 ]. Understanding how TB is conceptualised is crucial, not only to comprehend the causes of treatment delays but also to inform strategies to increase awareness and change behaviour.…”

The experiences of high school students with pulmonary tuberculosis in China: a qualitative study

“…Thus health courses are characterized by short duration, mere formality and lack of faculty, which have little educational effect. Meanwhile, most parents are lack of knowledge of TB themselves, who therefore are unable to educate their children [28]. In our present study, eighteen of all twenty-two patients have not received any health education, accounting for 81.8%.…”