TB truths Patients’ experience with tuberculosis and healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa

TB remains one of the most alarming global health threats of this age. Despite the often available TB medication for free, rates are not being significantly reduced or in some areas even going up. TB epidemiology have become more complex, due to the HIV epidemic and development of drug-resistance. Our systematic review gives insight into the paucity of qualitative TB research available from countries with low and medium TB incidence. Drawing on anthropological and public health approaches, this thesis additionally provides insights in patients’ experiences of TB and healthcare in South Africa, Zambia, and Gabon. In each country, we conducted ethnographic research in combination with quantitative or visual methods. These countries have divergent epidemiologic characteristics and TB programmes, yet TB remains a significant threat to the public health situation. We aimed at generating a more holistic understanding of the everyday challenges TB patients face by investigating their vulnerabilities and resilience, embodied experience of TB treatment, treatment adherence, socio-economic inequalities, stigma, TB perceptions, and available therapeutic traditions. In addition to our articles, our visual ethnographic film intends to transcend explicit scientific arguments in words, bringing the viewer back to an empathetic understanding of what is happening to some TB patients included in our study. We elaborate on how visual methods may synergize the disciplines public health and anthropology. With the use of film, we provided patients with an alternative path for expressing their experiences. We hope to contribute to improving TB programmes by creating novel synergies between patients, researchers, and policy-makers.