Concordance is a key step

The importance of people taking medicines extends beyond individuals to communities when medicines are crucial for treatment of communicable diseases and prevention of transmission. In this editorial we discuss the relevance of the concept of concordance (a term introduced to emphasise patients' beliefs about treatment)1 to the treatment of communicable disease, taking tuberculosis as an example. Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death due to an infectious agent, and the control of tuberculosis depends on effective treatment of the infectious patients, and therefore on people taking medicines.

The likelihood of successful treatment of tuberculosis depends on the extent to which patients complete the prescribed treatment regimen (usually called compliance with, or adherence to, treatment). Interrupted treatment of tuberculosis results in ongoing transmission of disease. Without support throughout the full course of treatment, many patients with tuberculosis adhere to treatment until symptoms have resolved and then stop, since patients may equate disease and therefore the need to continue treatment with illness (symptoms).2 The consequent risks of failure of …