Abstract
To understand the barriers to tuberculosis (TB) control and prevention in undergraduate students and to propose the strategies to improve this work, we conducted in-depth interviews with three groups of individuals in infirmaries of universities and colleges, TB departments of district Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs), and undergraduates with TB. The study identified four major themes: inadequate workforce and less than optimal functioning of infirmaries and district TB control agencies; poor cooperation in the process of discovery, treatment, and surveillance of undergraduates with TB; poor acceptance of the national TB policy; and inadequate attention to TB prevention. Failure to carry out the national TB policy was the major barrier to TB control and prevention in undergraduates. TB control agencies should strengthen the implementation of the national TB policy.
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Chinese TB Control Program, with a grant from the United Kingdom and a loan from the World Bank. We thank the Provincial TB Research Institute in Shaanxi and the Provincial TB Hospital in Shaanxi for the help they provided. We are grateful for the assistance and cooperation of the infirmaries of universities and colleges and district CDC selected. We would like to thank all the participants sharing their experiences with us.
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University students, a mobile population, are a challenge to tuberculosis control efforts in China. The authors look at policies, actions, and protagonists in one province.
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Li, X., Zhang, S., Yan, H. et al. Barriers to tuberculosis control and prevention in undergraduates in Xi’an, China: A qualitative study. J Public Health Pol 31, 355–368 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2010.13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2010.13