A Research on Healthcare Professionals’ Stigma Towards Tuberculosis Patients

Objective: Strong collaboration between healthcare professionals and patients is necessary for the control of tuberculosis (TB), a potentially fatal and contagious disease without treatment. Our research aims to evaluate whether healthcare professionals have stigmatizing attitudes and behaviours toward TB patients.

Material and methods: A web-based survey of 19 questions covering clinical situations was designed. A total of 528 healthcare professionals working in different healthcare institutions across the country participated in the survey. Stigma scores were recorded on a 5-point Likert response scale ranging from -2 to +2: the extreme points were ‘strongly disagree’ and ‘strongly agree’.

Results: The highest stigma scores were observed in non-physician auxiliary healthcare personnel groups such as medical secretaries, social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, midwives, nurses, and nurse assistants, while the lowest scores were detected in specialist physicians and academic physicians. In demographic analyses, it was observed that healthcare workers (HCWs) who more often encounter TB cases have higher stigma scores. In addition, when evaluated according to the type of institution they work in, it was found that stigma levels were higher in pharmacies, clinics, individual medical practices, private and independent healthcare institutions, and workplaces.

Conclusion: This study can contribute to reducing the stigma levels of HCWs towards TB patients with effective training programs and appropriate health policies, thus improving the health services provided to patients.