Tuberculosis from the perspective of men and women.
Talina Carla da Silva, Mayrla Lima Pinto, Giovanna Mariah Orlandi and 3 others
PMID 36346187WHAT IT FOUND
Men and women with tuberculosis described gendered roles shaping care: men as providers delayed treatment when work was threatened, women as caregivers prioritized family, and both valued home visits, listening, and supervised treatment.
Key findings
01Cure was higher among women (88.9%) and abandonment was higher among men (6.5%), but the overall treatment-status difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.688).
02Men described their family role as provider, and women described theirs as caregiver and central household support.
03Participants valued listening, home visits, directly supervised treatment, flexible teams, and free medication as supports during TB care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in one city with 63 patients, so the findings may not apply to other places or groups. It was descriptive and cross-sectional, so it describes experiences at one point and cannot show that gender roles caused treatment delay or abandonment. The authors state that the design may have prevented deeper reflection on gender roles and that the findings cannot be generalized. Rural residents, incarcerated people, deceased patients, transferred cases, and duplicate records were excluded, so some TB patients were not represented. The treatment-status comparison was not statistically significant (p = 0.688), so the higher cure in women and higher abandonment in men should not be treated as a confirmed sex difference.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that men are less adherent because of gender roles or that a gender-focused intervention will improve TB outcomes. This was a small single-city interview study, and the treatment-status difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.688).