Psychoactive substance use in patients with tuberculosis: Treatment adherence and interface with brief interventions

Abstract

Background: Psychoactive substance use associated with tuberculosis is an urgent public health issue in the contemporary world. Objective: To characterize the profile and psychoactive substance use of patients undergoing tuberculosis treatment and to analyze the association between health-related variables, consumption, and treatment adherence, from the perspective of Brief Interventions (BI). Methodology: Descriptive correlational epidemiological study, with 114 patients, from 2016 to 2017. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire and the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test were used. Results: Smokers who drank alcohol (p = 0.058) and those who reported not having chronic diseases (p = 0.024) had a need to receive BI. Cannabis use was more frequent among smokers (p = 0.009). As for the frequency of treatment adherence, 40% of participants smoked, 21.1% drank alcohol, 10.5% used cannabis, and 13.7% used cocaine. Conclusion: These results demonstrated the vulnerability of this population to psychoactive substance use based on treatment adherence.