First Advisor

Richard Lockwood

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Science and University Honors

Department

Science

Subjects

Tuberculosis -- Prevention -- International cooperation, Physicians -- Training of, Millennium Development Goals, Economic development projects -- Evaluation

DOI

10.15760/honors.242

Abstract

Tuberculosis ranks alongside HIV as the leading cause of death worldwide. This fact is complicated by drug-resistant versions of tuberculosis. Furthermore, the limited availability and high cost of stronger antibiotics creates a barrier to treating drug-resistant tuberculosis. In 2000, the United Nations organized to fight tuberculosis via Millennium Development Goal six and the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis. In an effort to understand limitations on the effectiveness of global programs, this research addresses the following question: What do physicians know about global programs for TB? Mixed methods, involving both quantitative and qualitative data, were used to obtain the results of this research. For the quantitative portion, three statistical tables were created describing 1) demographics and development; 2) tuberculosis indicators; and 3) health resources and funding. This was to provide background information on each country. Following this, five tuberculosis experts were interviewed in Japan, China, Vietnam, India, and South Africa. Interviews were condensed into core narratives and analyzed for physician knowledge about global programs for tuberculosis. Results showed evidence of disconnect between physicians and global programs. In general, physicians demonstrated dated knowledge. Three shared statistics that were removed from official documents in 2005, one cited vaguely correct information, and one did not demonstrate that they knew anything about global programs. Also, physicians described themselves as uninvolved, separate, and uninfluenced by global programs. Understanding the disconnect between physicians and global programs designed to alleviate disease burden is an area for future research.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/17326

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