WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS DRIVING TB AMONG WOMEN IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES?
• Factors such as stigma, differences in healthcare seeking behavior, lower socio-economic status, and lack of education account for women’s increased delay in diagnosis and treatment.4 • Women often have lower socio-economic status, reduced access to economic resources, lower education, and fewer opportunities to access information as compared to men. As a result, women tend to use less qualified health services.10 For example, in Vietnam, women favor private providers, traditional healers, and self medication over nationally administered health care systems, for fear of being recognized as TB-positive by other community members attending the national TB clinics.4,10 ,11 • Women tend to bear the highest amount of stigma with respect to TB. In some communities, women may be forced into divorce, sent back to their parent’s home, or, if unmarried, have fewer chances of finding a marriage partner.12 • In Pakistan, a study at the Federal Tuberculosis Centre showed that cultural inhibitions
