RID-TB-Q version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Research to improve the detection and treatment of latent TB infection : A Qualitative Study
IRAS ID
270249
Contact name
Amy Clarke
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research Summary
This research describes a 2-part qualitative sub-study of the NIHR funded programme grant: Research to Improve the Detection and Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (RID-TB) RP-PG-0217-20009.
Latent TB infection (LTBI) is non-infectious (cannot be passed between individuals) and people with it often experience no symptoms. However, if left untreated, LTBI can become active TB which can make a person and those around them very unwell. Active TB is curable, however, it is best to avoid getting it in the first place. Taking medicine or treatment for LTBI as directed by your healthcare team, is effective at stopping the infection becoming active. Whilst it is important to take you medicines as prescribed, this can be challenging for a number of reasons. However, when medicines are not taken as directed they are less effective, which can lead to treatment failure.
Part 1 of this study will explore the difficulties people face following a diagnosis of LTBI, with a particular focus on any barriers which might affect the motivation or ability of someone to take their medicines. The findings of this study will be used to develop better ways of encouraging and supporting people during their treatment for LTBI. Participants will also be asked to provide feedback on our short tick box questions that have been designed for use in the RID-TB adherence trial.
Before the RID-TB adherence trial, it is important to gain feedback about our proposed intervention from potential future users. As such we will invite members of the community who have experience of LTBI to attend a group discussion. Our intervention will be updated based on the feedback and tested again in a further discussion group. This will help to ensure it is both engaging and acceptable to the target user. The group discussions will comprise Part 2 of the study.Summary of Results
Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a non-infectious (cannot be passed between individuals) condition where people do not experience symptoms. However, when LTBI is left untreated, it can become active and make people unwell and people may pass this to other individuals. So people with LTBI need to be treated to prevent their condition from becoming active. This may mean taking medication or treatment. However, taking this medication or treatment may be challenging, and some people do not take their medication as it has been prescribed. This increases the risk of getting unwell with TB. This study aimed to understand why people might not take their LTBI treatment. We interviewed 31 adults (over 16 years and less than 65) who were due to start, currently on, or had completed LTBI treatment within the last 12 months in the UK. Participants were aged between 23 to 75 years, with the most common age group being 39 years. Most participants lived in the UK but were born outside of the UK. Results of those interviews indicated a number of factors that might make someone more likely to take their LTBI treatment: a need to protect themselves or others from TB, availability of treatment, trust in health care provider. Experiencing side effects, the long length of treatment and the impact of the treatment on daily life were highlighted as barriers to someone taking their LTBI treatment. Not having a good routine and disruptions to personal routine, (such as travelling) were found to be practical barriers to taking LTBI treatment. Those findings have informed the development of an intervention to support informed treatment choices and adherence in LTBI that will be applied and tested in the RID-TB programme.REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1546
Date of REC Opinion
12 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion