Family Support and Stigmatization on Motivation to Cure Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Women

Background: The longer duration of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) treatment, with stricter protocols and more severe side effects than sensitive TB drugs, is another challenge for patients to be able to complete their treatment completely. The stigma experienced by patients, especially female patients, becomes an obstacle in regulating self-motivation mechanisms to achieve recovery. The role of family support is reported as a supporting aspect of motivation and recovery for DR-TB patients. This study aims to examine the effect of stigmatization and family support towards motivation to recover among female DR-TB patients. Method: Cross sectional study of 70 female DR-TB patients in the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java through home visits. Logistic regression was used to determine the exposure variables towards outcomes and determine the most suitable model for predicting patient recovery motivation. Results: Stigma was considered as amotivation reducer to recovery motivation among patients (p=0.002, OR=0.1929825, β=-1.645156). Family support was able to increase patient motivation (p=0.012, OR=4.804345, β=1.569521). Conclusion: Women suffering from DR-TB need to receive support from a social environment that is free from stigmatization, and strengthened by ideal family support to have strong motivation in completing treatment and achieving recovery. © 2023, Media Shed. All rights reserved.