The objectives of this project are to conduct a preliminary mapping of MDR-TB patients’ treatment trajectories through private and government healthcare provision in two districts in India; to identify (potential) patterns of treatment-seeking, treatment-provision and exposure to MDR-TB and/or risk of developing drug resistance in selected urban areas in India; and to develop a theoretical model of configuration of MDRTB development in an Indian context.
The project seeks to trace treatment trajectories of patients already diagnosed and under treatment for MDRTB on the basis of a combination of patient and family narratives and analysis of available medical records. By doing so, the project seeks to establish a more detailed understanding of the multifactorial complexities that configures the interaction between bacteria, medicines, patients, relatives, healthcare providers/systems/resources, policies and market dynamics as seen from a patient perspective. Questions asked by the project include: ‘what are the (patterned and non-patterned) chains of events in the life of patients that increase the risk of development of drug resistance?’ and ‘what are the different forms of resistance that result in MDRTB?’.
