The effectiveness of health belief model intervention on tuberculosis medication adherence in rural Indonesia: a pre-experimental study

Tuberculosis treatment non-adherence remains a significant challenge in rural Indonesia, with Kampar District reporting below-target success rates. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Health Belief Model (HBM) intervention on medication adherence among tuberculosis patients in rural Indonesia. A pre-experimental study with a one-group pretest- posttest design was conducted among 45 purposively sampled TB patients in Kampar District. Data were collected using the validated Health Belief Model Questionnaire and the Medication Adherence Rating Scale. The intervention consisted of a 3-month structured program including weekly sessions in the first month, bi-weekly sessions in the second month, and a monthly follow-up in the third month. Following the HBM intervention, significant improvements were observed in perceived benefits (31.33±4.447 to 32.80±4.341, p<0.001), perceived barriers (22.80±3.286 to 24.38±4.185, p=0.002), and perceived susceptibility (25.64±3.675 to 26.69±3.771, p=0.007). Moreover, medication adherence significantly improved from 5.40±1.156 to 6.20±0.944 (p<0.001). The HBM intervention effectively improved medication adherence through enhanced health beliefs among rural TB patients. Thus, integrating HBM-based interventions into TB treatment programs could improve treatment outcomes in resource-limited settings. However, further research with longer follow-up periods is recommended.