ASSESSMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS SCREENING AND TREATMENT IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA: PATIENTS' PERSPECTIVE

Agriculture is a sector that requires immense manpower; however many active and potential ones are being snatched away by Tuberculosis (TB). This study thus assessed the screening and treatment of tuberculosis in Osun State, Nigeria, because assessment from the sufferers is more efficacious in planning appropriate health education and preventive measures. The population of the study comprised male and female tuberculosis patients involved in the screening and treatment of tuberculosis programme in Osun State. Multistage random sampling was used to select 106 respondents for the study. Interview schedules were used to elicit information from the 106 TB patients sampled. Data were summarised using frequencies and percentages. Result showed that people living with TB are within economically productive age and there is a higher risk of people living with TB infecting other people because many of them were poor, and stigmatized. The respondents continue participating in the treatment programme because they believed it was effective enough to prevent them from TB associated diseases and death. It is recommended that complete information on how people living with TB can prevent spread and how people free of TB can protect themselves from contracting it should be well publicized in all mass media.