The study upon which this paper was written is part of the large program entitled“China National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Gates Foundation TB Project”,a collaboration between the Government of China and the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation(Grant No.51914),and implemented by the China Center of Disease Control and Prevention(CDC).The Duke Global Health Institute,USA/Duke Kunshan University in China,and Nanjing Medical University,Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Xi’an Jiaotong University in China were contracted by the Foundation and China CDC to undertake the baseline survey,and monitoring and evaluation of innovative financial models of TB/MDRTB control and care in China.In addition,the authors express their deep appreciation to all the staffs in the research areas,as well as the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for allowing this study to be conducted in the selected health facilities.The authors would also like to acknowledge Chee-Ruey Hsieh,Professor of Duke Kunshan University,and Shenglan Tang,Professor of Duke University,for their critical review and comments on the manuscript;This study was also supported by the project“Research on Economic Risk of Major Diseases and the Protection Effect Model of Rural Residents in the Central and Western Regions of China”supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.71203068).
Background:Tuberculosis(TB)patients in China still face a number of barriers in seeking diagnosis and treatment.There is evidence that the economic burden on TB patients and their households discourages treatment comp...