Factors Associated with Patient’s Delay in Tuberculosis Treatment in Bahir Dar City Administration, Northwest Ethiopia

Background. Unknown proportions of tuberculosis cases remain undiagnosed and untreated as result of several factors which further increases the number of tuberculosis cases per index case. Objective. To identify factors associated with patient’s delay in initiating treatment of tuberculosis. Methods. Cross-sectional study was employed from January to April, 2013, in Bahir Dar Ethiopia. A total of 360 patients were included. Data were collected from tuberculosis patients using a semistructured questionnaire. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16 windows. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with patient delay. Results. Of all patients, 211 (62%) sought medical care after the WHO recommended period (21 days). The median patient delays of smear positive, smear negative, and extrapulmonary patients were 27 (IQR: 10–59), 30 (IQR: 9–65), and 31 (IQR: 10–150) days, respectively, with statistically significant variations among them (ANOVA: F=5.96; P