Comparing NGOs and Public Health Services Treating Leprosy and Tuberculosis in a City of Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Leprosy and Tuberculosis (TB) patients have choices of receiving treatment between Non-government Organization (NGO) operated and public hospital.

Objective: This study compared patients’ level of satisfaction between NGO and public hospitals treating Leprosy and TB.

Methodology: The study was conducted in Khulna city during February-April, 2020. Using random sampling technique, questionnaire survey among patients and in-depth interviews among seven doctors and health service providers were conducted. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was employed to compare the difference in the level of satisfaction between NGOs and public hospitals. The sample patients’ opinion on NGO and public health services for Leprosy and TB were synthesized from the perspectives of doctors and health service providers.

Results: A total number of 53 patients were recruited for this study. The findings of the study suggested that most of the Leprosy and TB patients belonged to the low-income group, which led to ignoring the symptoms and delayed disease detection. In contrast to the NGO led health facility where the level of patients’ satisfaction was high, public hospitals performed poorly for Leprosy and TB treatment. The stark difference between NGO operated and the public hospital was due to the specialized care by NGO hospitals, and due to the overwhelming number of non-communicable disease patients at the public hospitals. Access to funding, logistics and training, and a small number of patients, spurred better services by the NGO operated hospitals than their public counterparts.

Conclusion: The study conclusively proved that NGO operated hospitals offered better health services than public ones for Leprosy and TB patients in Khulna.

Bangladesh Journal of Infectious Diseases December 2021;8(2):71-74