Abstract:

Objective: Based on the Health Belief Model, with qualitative interviews, this study is to explore the health beliefs of initial treated smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their families: motivational factors and barriers. Methods: Based on the Health Belief Model theory, a descriptive qualitative study was conducted. Using purposive sampling, 10 initial treated smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients hospitalized in the Third People’s Hospital of Kunming from November to December 2022 and their 9 family members (including 2 parents, 5 spouses, and 2 children), were selected as the study subjects. In-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted based on the interview outline, and the interview data were organized and analyzed using targeted content analysis. Results: The study identified six health belief themes among initial treated smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their families: blind spots in pulmonary tuberculosis-related knowledge, concerns about pulmonary tuberculosis transmission, the ability to return to social activities after being cured, barriers to the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, confidence in being cured from pulmonary tuberculosis, and support for pulmonary tuberculosis treatment needs. These six themes were categorized into motivating factors and barriers. The motivating factors were the ability to return to social activities after being cured, confidence in being cured from pulmonary tuberculosis, and support for treatment needs; Barriers included blind spots in pulmonary tuberculosis-related knowledge, concerns about pulmonary tuberculosis transmission, and barriers to pulmonary tuberculosis treatment (general barriers and specific barriers for both patients and their families). General barriers for patients included treatment costs, schooling suspension, and work suspension. Specific barriers included inconvenient transportation. General barriers for family members included treatment costs, while the specific barriers included the absence of caregivers for patients. Conclusion: The ability to return to social activities after being cured, confidence in being cured from pulmonary tuberculosis, and support for treatment needs are the healthbeliefs that serve as motivational factors for the initial treated smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their families, while blind spots in pulmonary tuberculosis-related knowledge, concerns about pulmonary tuberculosis transmission, and treatment barriers (costs, suspension of schooling and work, transportation inconvenience, and lack of caregivers) are the health beliefs that hinder the treatment for initial smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and their families.

Key words: Tuberculosis,pulmonary, Family, Health Knowledge, Motivation, Cognition disorders, Qualitative research