Chapter 5

Treatment of TB requires multiple drugs, often with adverse effects, and frequently requires airborne isolation for several weeks. Meaningful and culturally appropriate engagement, education and support are critical for achieving successful TB treatment.

Meaningful engagement with a person with TB may include:

• an understanding of the social and historical forces that put a person at risk for TB, and may impact their healthcare engagement and trust in health care providers, including potential for bias and discrimination from health care workers and the healthcare system (see Chapter 12: An Introductory Guide to Tuberculosis Care…Serving Indigenous Peoples and Chapter 13: Tuberculosis Surveillance and Tuberculosis Infection Testing and Treatment in Migrants);

• education and counseling to improve treatment literacy;³⁴

• use of professional interpreters in the patient’s language of choice (preferably professional interpreters rather than family and friends);³⁵

• use of appropriate, non-stigmatizing and person-centred language;³⁶

• review of information and comprehension at return visits; and

• use of incentives and treatment supports, when appropriate.³⁷

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