Setting: Out-patient tuberculosis (TB) clinics in Durban, South Africa.
Objective: Health care provider concerns about persons with active TB defaulting on medications led to a study of adherence among persons receiving anti-tuberculosis therapy and, specifically, the relationships between meaning in life, life goals, sense of coherence, social support, symptom presence and intensity, and adherence in individuals diagnosed with TB.
Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to gather self-reported data from TB-infected individuals who were enrolled in out-patient clinics. Data were collected from 159 Zulu and/or English-speaking persons who agreed to participate in the study.
Results: A significant relationship was found between higher life goals and adherence to TB treatment (P = 0.027). Analysis of variance revealed that higher meaning in life ratings were significantly associated with older age (P = 0.007). Having children and children living in the same household were significantly associated with low meaning in life ratings (P = 0.006 and P < or = 0.001, respectively), indicating that these individuals were more concerned about basic matters of home and sustenance.
Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that meaning in life and life goals may be useful for identifying individuals who will require additional support in adhering to anti-tuberculosis treatment.