Perceived provider barriers to tuberculosis case finding in people attending HIV services at primary health care facilities in a rural KwaZulu Natal District

Abstract

HIV is the main driver of the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. HIV positive patients have double the chances of being infected with TB than HIV negative ones, and TB is one of the largest contributing factors to mortality in HIV/TB coinfected patients. Policies have advocated for intensified case finding of TB in high-risk groups and numerous guidelines have been developed. Despite all the efforts and emphasis on HIV/TB integration, South Africa has not achieved the desired outputs in terms of finding TB cases in this group. Professional nurses working in HIV services are strategically located to contribute to increased TB case finding.