SPATIAL PATTERNS OF TUBERCULOSIS IN THE PUNJAB

Abstract

The present research is an attempt to explore the occurrence and clustering of tuberculosis patterns in the Punjab, Pakistan. The Punjab, which is the largest province of Pakistan, is selected to examine the patterns of TB from 1990 to 2005. Higher disease rates are found in big cities in 1990. South Punjab was found severely affected throughout the study period. Kulldorff Spatial Scan Test also identified disease dusters in major cities. Moreover, the diseases clusters have shifted from central and north Punjab to the south Punjab during this period. The disease proportion is found higher in females than males. Low income, larger families, illiteracy, and over crowdedness are found important factors in the disease patterns. The knowledge about the disease such as symptoms, causes and precautions is found very poor in the patients. The analysis of healthcare services revealed that the accessibility, time, and cost are important issues for the poor patients. Inequality in the distribution of healthcare services in various districts of the Punjab province is a major concern which is verified by the use of techniques such as Lorenz curve and Gini index.