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Patient satisfaction with care at directly observed therapy programs for tuberculosis in New York City
H Davidson1, M Smirnoff, S J Klein
1Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass., USA. hdavidso@caregroup.harvard.edu
Objectives:
This study examined patients' satisfaction with New York State's tuberculosis (TB) directly observed therapy (DOT) programs in New York City.
Methods:
A survey was conducted of 435 patients at 19 public, private, and community-based TB DOT clinics about their satisfaction with various aspects of the programs.
Results:
Patients identified the opportunity to receive good medical care as the most important aspect of TB DOT. Also significant was the supportiveness of DOT staff. Receiving incentives to encourage participation was statistically less important. Half of the patients reported being better off with DOT than with self-supervised care.
Conclusions:
This study confirms the value of patient-focused care among inner-city TB patients.