TB elimination by 2025: Pune study highlights challenges faced by patients in diagnosis and care of tuberculosis

The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, and Harvard Medical School, USA.

While efforts are being made to improve the infrastructure of the health centres as India has set a goal of TB elimination by 2025, study authors say patients expressed several unmet needs. (Representational image via Canva)

Delay in diagnosis, lack of counselling, late referral to the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) and unwarranted expenditure are the main barriers to tuberculosis care in the country, according to a research study conducted in Pune.

The qualitative research study titled ‘Addressing patients’ unmet needs related to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) care’ highlighted the difficulties patients encountered while accessing health services both in the private and the public sector.

Conducted in collaboration with Dr D Y Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, and Harvard Medical School, USA, the study, published recently in PloS One, provides practical suggestions to improve TB and MDR-TB care.

“Educating private providers about MDR-TB risk and available rapid molecular assays can help the timely diagnosis of MDR-TB and reduce patients’ out-of-pocket costs,” Dr Sachin Atre, adjunct faculty and research consultant at the department of community medicine at Dr D Y Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, and the lead author of the study, told The Indian Express.

Dr Atre said dismissal of symptoms, non-courteous behaviour, lack of hygiene in the referral centres, forced stay with other patients, and lack of support for psychological/psychiatric problems were identified as a few additional challenges that patients faced at the NTEP care centres.

At the RNTCP/NTEP, measures such as training health workers to build rapport with patients, maintaining hygienic environments in the health centres with adequate isolation of participants with MDR from other serious cases, referral of patients with psychiatric symptoms to mental health specialists and monitoring drug shortages can help in improving care delivery, the study suggests.

While efforts are being made to improve the infrastructure of the health centres as India has set a goal of TB elimination by 2025, study authors say patients expressed several unmet needs.

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“Addressing those would help the NTEP managers to better cater to them. The needs/challenges are almost similar throughout the country. New technologies such as Whole Genome Sequencing for rapid and accurate diagnosis of drug-resistant TB are now available at affordable costs. Scaling up such technologies and making them practically available for all patients to guide the appropriate treatment would be a major step toward preventing TB and drug-resistant TB transmission in the community and protecting public health,” Dr Atre added.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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