Compliance with tuberculosis drug regimens: incentives and enablers offered by public health departments.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This research examined incentives implemented by public health departments to encourage tuberculosis patients to comply with tuberculosis drug regimens. METHODS: A questionnaire addressing incentives was mailed to the directors of each state's health department during May 1995. All 50 states and the District of Columbia returned questionnaires. RESULTS: The survey results indicate that public health departments in almost all states are implementing the incentives advocated by tuberculosis experts. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of these incentives may help to explain why the incidence of tuberculosis resumed its long-term decline in the United States during 1993 after a decade of resurgence.