Tuberculosis

Peripheral support

Doctors, nurses, hospital staff and family members are the ones who rally round the patient and undergo the stress of finance, worry and stigma when a diagnosis of tuberculosis is made. There is a need to provide care for the care givers and understand and alleviate their suffering. Children are most likely to be affected as the stress creates neglect. The community may react to tuberculosis as it would have in the past, with a sense of fear and a desire to stay away from the family.

Care giver

Doctors and nurses are continuously exposed to a variety of diseases that threaten their immunity. Long work hours in conjunction with highly demanding jobs increase the sensitivity and pose a real threat of falling ill with tuberculosis. The emotional stresses of care givers who manage tuberculosis patients with multiple problems, that complicate the treatment, add to the severe stress and high burnout. Reduced attendance, errors in care giving and failing performance at the workplace are signs of a problem at a personal level. Some care givers have an attitude of wanting to save tuberculosis patients with many complications and undergo trauma when they perceive the failure as personal.

Families

The incidence of high numbers of tuberculosis patients in an area increases the need for external help. Care givers require attention to prevent slip-ups in care. Families need to adjust to the financial requirements and changing family responsibility patterns. Tuberculosis requires to be understood by the family and the need to provide support to the patient is essential. The adults may have to reconsider roles that have been played by each of them so that dependents if any are well taken care of. An understanding and a rejection of the stigma and fear associated with tuberculosis.

Children

Children are the worst affected since the pressure of having to take care of a parent with tuberculosis leads to increased financial burden and stress on the other. The event of tuberculosis can be confusing and distressful for young children if the elders are not taken into confidence and made aware of their context. Children with the ailment have to be made to understand why they feel a certain way and that they are getting better. There is the possibility of the child being neglected due to the absence of timely care by the family and the others in the community.

Community support

The community may refer to the neighbours and friends who stay near the tuberculosis patient’s family or to the relatives who can help without getting exposed to the possibility of infection. Caring for the young ones and providing them safe surroundings allows the elders in the tuberculosis patient’s family to focus on earning and providing care. This support greatly alleviates the stress on the family and improves the quality of care provided to the patient. Volunteering at the hospital to take care of the needs of patients is another way to reduce the burden on the medical staff and reduce the scope of error in care.