THE EFFECT OF TUBERCULOSIS HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM ON MEDICATION ADHERENCE AMONG TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of a tuberculosis health promotion program on medication adherence among tuberculosis sufferers. Sixty-eight persons with tuberculosis, recruited from the Klari, Karawang public health center in West Java, Indonesia, were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group, with 34 persons assigned to each group. The participants in the experimental group participated in the Tuberculosis Health Promotion Program, whereas, those in the control group received conventional nursing care. Based on the Pender’s Health Promotion Model, the 8- week tuberculosis health promotion program comprised health education related to TB, personal counseling, group discussion and individual monitoring. The outcome was assessed by the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Data were analyzed using Dependent t-test and Independent t-test. The results indicated that after participating in the tuberculosis health promotion program, medication adherence among persons with tuberculosis in the experimental group significantly improved. In addition, after participating in the program, there was a significant difference between the experimental group (=1.61, SD=0.85) and the control group (=3.64, SD=1.04), p<0.001. This finding suggests that a TB health promotion program is effective in imrroving medication adherence among TB patients.