Tuberculosis (TB) remains a salient public health issue along the U.S./Mexico border. A study by researchers at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health examined the social and structural factors, which are associated with TB disease burden in the binational geographic region. The study is published in Frontiers in Public Health.

[Photo: Dr. Celina I. Valencia]

Identification of barriers of treatment completion provides the necessary framework for developing evidence-based interventions that are culturally relevant and context specific for the U.S./Mexico border region.

The investigators conducted a retrospective study of data extracted from medical charts from Yuma County Health Department (YCHD) and Centro de Salud San Luis Río Colorado. Patients currently accessing TB treatment at either facility were excluded from the study.

The study population was predominantly male (n = 327). Females were more likely to complete TB treatment (OR = 3.71). The absence of drug use and/or the absence of an HIV positive diagnosis were found to be predictors of TB treatment completion across both clinical sites. Forty-four percent of TB patients treated at CDS San Luis did not complete treatment versus 40.35 percent of TB patients who did not complete treatment at YCHD. Moving from the area or being deported was the highest category (20.78 percent) for incomplete TB treatment in the population across both clinical sites.

The first author Dr. Celina I. Valencia, graduated from the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health in May with a DrPH in public health policy and management.

Tuberculosis Treatment Completion in a United States/Mexico Binational Context

Frontiers in Public Health, May 24, 2017

Celina I. Valencia, Kacey Ernst and Cecilia Rosales

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00118