SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQoL) AFFECTING WELL-BEING OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS (PTB) PATIENTS

Background: Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) is an infectious disease and still a global public health issue. PTB affects not only the patients’ physical health, but also on their mental and social wellbeing. The health program in TB management routinely focuses on bacteriological markers of response and on outcomes such as cure, mortality and treatment failure. However, there are various aspects that may lead to a poor HRQoL. Thus, an evaluation of Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and its determinants has become an important health outcome and an area of concern for policy makers, health care professionals and researchers. The objective of this systematic review is to determine how PTB affects patients’ HRQoL and to identify the determinants of affected HRQoL. Materials and Methods: Systematic review of the published literature was conducted. Original studies providing information on PTB affecting the HRQoL were identified. The search terms used were “Health-related Quality of Life”, “Determinants”, “Pulmonary Tuberculosis” and “Patients”. The articles selected were rated using items extracted from the STROBE Statement checklist. Result: After screening, 21 articles were used for the systematic review; findings were discussed in terms of the study design, participants, results, remarks and the quality of the article (Table 1). Conclusion: Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) does impair the Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among the patients; namely the physical, mental and social components. Keywords: Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL), Determinants, Pulmonary Tuberculosis.