Effectiveness of Psychosocial Counseling in Patients With a New Tuberculosis Diagnosis

Introduction: Newly diagnosed TB patients frequently experience psychological distress, stigma, and concerns regarding treatment duration, side effects, and social consequences, which may negatively affect adherence. Psychosocial counseling has been proposed as a patient-centered strategy to address these challenges; however, evidence regarding its effectiveness among newly diagnosed TB patients in primary care settings remains limited. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a psychosocial counseling intervention in improving treatment adherence and psychosocial outcomes among newly diagnosed TB patients receiving care in primary health care centers. Methods and Analysis: This study will employ a two-arm quasi-experimental design conducted in 10 primary health care centers (PHCs) in Semarang City, Indonesia. Five PHCs will be allocated to the intervention group and five PHCs to the control group to minimize contamination. A total of 108 newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients will be recruited. Participants in the intervention group will receive a structured psychosocial counseling program in addition to standard TB care, while participants in the control group will receive standard TB care alone. Data will be collected at baseline (T0), immediately after the intervention (T1), and two months after treatment initiation (T2). The primary outcome is treatment adherence during the intensive phase of treatment. Secondary outcomes include psychological distress, TB-related stigma, TB knowledge, and treatment self-efficacy. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, mixed-design analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and multivariable logistic regression.