Table 1 Patient, health service and total delays in published studies and current study
From: Delays in diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in Wakiso and Mukono districts, Uganda
Reference | Definitions used | Prevalence of delay | Median/mean total delay | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ā | Patient delay | Health service/facility delay | Total delayā=āPatientā+āhealth facility delay | Ā | Ā |
Kiwuwa et al. (2005) Uganda [5] | - The time interval between symptom onset and the first medical consultation. | - The time taken from the first medical consultation to when the diagnosis was confirmed and treatment started. | -ā>ā4 weeks was considered as prolonged/ unacceptable total delay. | - Patient delay: not specified | -Median: 12 weeks, IQR not specified |
- Health service delay: 74% | |||||
- A health provider was defined as any person consulted by the patient about his/her sickness, who prescribed any form of medication. These included dispensers, pharmacists, medical staff and herbalists or traditional healers. | - Total delay: 91% | ||||
- Health service delay was when there was a delay ofā>ā4 weeks between the initial contact with the health provider and the start of TB treatment. | |||||
- Interval ofā>ā2 weeks was considered as long patient delay. | |||||
Ngadaya et al. (2009) [6] Tanzania. | - The time interval between the day of experiencing for the first time one of the pulmonary symptoms to the day the patient sought medical advice for the first time. | - A time interval between first consultations at a health facility to the day the treatment was initiated. | - The sum of the patient and health facility delay. | - Health facility: 59%. | - Mean: 125.5 (SD98.5) days |
- Patient and total delay not specified. | |||||
- Median: 90 days, IQR not specified | |||||
- A time intervalā>ā35 days. | |||||
- Interval ofā>ā30 days was considered as patient delay. | - A time interval ofā>ā5 days was considered as health facility delay | ||||
Basnet et al. (2009) Nepal [16] | - The time interval from the appearance of the first symptoms of tuberculosis until the first visit to any formal health care facility (health centres, hospitals or DOTS centres). | - The time interval from the first consultation at any formal health facility until the date of diagnosis. | Ā | Not specified. | - Median: 60 days, IQR not specified |
Sendagire et al. (2010) [7] | - The time in weeks from the onset of cough to a first consultation with any health care provider. | - The time in weeks from the first consultation to initiation of treatment. | - Prolonged total delay was defined as a delay ofā>ā14 weeks. | - Prolonged patient delay: 19% | -Median: 8 (IQR 4-12) weeks |
- Prolonged health service delay: 29% | |||||
- Prolonged patient delay was defined as a delay ofā>ā8 weeks. | |||||
- Prolonged heath facility was defined as a delay ofā>ā6 weeks. | |||||
- Prolonged total delay: 24.1% | |||||
Current study | -The time interval in weeks between onset of cough and the first consultation with any health care provider (dispensers, pharmacists, medical staff and herbalists/traditional healers). | -The time in weeks from the first consultation to the initiation of the TB treatment. | Unacceptable total delay was defined asā>ā4 weeks. | - Unacceptable patient delay: 58% | - Median total delay of 16 (IQR 9-30) weeks |
Unacceptable health service delay: 89% | |||||
- Total delay: 91% | |||||
- Unacceptable health service delay was defined as a delay of more than 1 week. | |||||
| Ā | - Unacceptable patient delay was defined as a delay of more than 3 weeks since the onset of cough. | Ā | Ā | Ā | Ā |