The impact of substance use on tuberculosis treatment adherence among tuberculosis patients in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background Substance use are associated with high discontinuation of tuberculosis treatment which is a barrier to tuberculosis control. Treatment discontinuation significantly increase the risk of poor treatment outcomes in both drug-susceptible and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients. This study aimed to explore the impact of substance use on tuberculosis treatment adherence among tuberculosis patients in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Method The study employed exploratory qualitative research design. Purposive sampling method was used to sample eight TB focal person and eight facility operational managers who were working in eight community health center within three selected districts in Limpopo province. Data were collected through key informant in-depth interviews and were analysed using Colaizzi’s method. Results The study results show four individual major themes that emerged from data analysis: (1) Patients forget to take treatment, (2) Patients miss follow up visit and DOT support appointments (3) Patients refuse social support (4) Patients refuse to attend health education and counselling. Conclusion The study highlighted serious impact of substance abuse on TB treatment adherence among TB patients. There is a need to integrate treatment for alcoholism and illicit drug users into primary health care to identify specific group of patients suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction on time, as a component of comprehensive TB treatment strategy.