Determinants of Treatment Interruption Among Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients in Medan

Who

• Participants: 104 bacteriologically confirmed DR-TB patients at H. Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan.

• Groups: 34 patients lost to follow-up and 70 who continued treatment.

• Demographics of loss-to-follow-up patients:

  • 65% aged 45–65

  • 55.9% male

  • 91.2% completed high school or equivalent

  • 58.8% employed

  • 70.6% married

What

• Study focus: Association between perceived social support and perceived quality of healthcare services with loss-to-follow-up among DR-TB patients.

• Key findings:

  • Low–moderate social support significantly predicts loss-to-follow-up (PR = 14.50; p < 0.001).

  • Patients perceiving only “adequate” healthcare provider support have nearly a six-fold higher risk of loss-to-follow-up compared with those perceiving full support (p < 0.001).

• Implications: Both social and healthcare support strongly influence treatment adherence and should be integrated into patient-centered TB management strategies in Indonesia.

When

• The study was conducted over seven months; patients included had initiated treatment between 2020 and 2024.

Where

• H. Adam Malik Hospital, Medan, Indonesia. 

Why

• To fill a gap in understanding how combined social support and healthcare service quality predict loss-to-follow-up among DR-TB patients—an area with limited evidence in Medan.

How

• Design: Observational study using purposive sampling.

• Inclusion criteria: Age ≥18 years, DR-TB default or treatment completion status, treatment initiation 2020–2024, and informed consent.

• Data collection: Medical record review plus a validated questionnaire covering demographics, treatment attitude, social support, and healthcare provider support.

• Instruments: Social support assessed using adapted versions of the MSPSS (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support) questionnaire (12 items, 3 subscales).

Source: Dalimunthe, A., Sinaga, B.Y.M., Siagian, P. and Amelia, R., 2025. Social Support and Healthcare Service Quality as Determinants of Treatment Interruption Among Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients in Medan, Indonesia. Jurnal Impresi Indonesia, 4(11), pp.5176-5183.