Evaluating the Stigma on Patients with Tuberculosis

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate stigmatization for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis as descriptive.Method: Data was collected using Patient Identifi cation Form and Stigma Scale for Patients with Tuberculosis (SSPT) by face-to-face interview method. Sample of the study consisted of 150 patients applying to Yalova Tuberculosis Dispensary who accepted to participate in the study.Results: Age average of patients was 42.14±17.31 years and 71.4% of them were male. It was found that stigmatization of patients participating in the study did not affected on gender, marital status, occupation, social security, sickness level and hospitalization conditions due to tuberculosis. Total stigmatization points of patients who suffered from tuberculosis in last two years and patients who did not tell that they had tuberculosis were higher than the others. While patients who had relatives with tuberculosis experienced more the interiorized stigmatization, sub dimension of stigmatization felt by patients who didn’t take their medication intentionally was higher. It was observed that primary school graduate and patient whose economic conditions had medium level experienced more stigmatization in their family/friend relationships than the others.Conclusion: Accordingly, patients with pulmonary tuberculosis experienced medium level stigmatization. Factors which affect stigmatization for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis should be known by healthcare staff as well as the society.