Acceptability of mandatory tuberculosis notification among private practitioners in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

OBJECTIVE: Indonesia ranks second globally in the number of cases not reported to the National Tuberculosis Control Program, accounting for 11% of the total cases lost worldwide. In 2016, the Ministry of Health has issued Regulation Number 67 on tuberculosis control, which requires mandatory tuberculosis notification. We aimed to assess the prospective acceptability of mandatory tuberculosis notification among solo private practitioners and private primary care clinics in Yogyakarta. RESULTS: Our study highlighted critical issues which need to be addressed in ensuring acceptability of mandatory tuberculosis case notification. We found that that private practitioners do not notify tuberculosis cases due to a lack of policy knowledge. Mandatory tuberculosis notification and its potential penalties were also felt as burdensome by private practitioners. There were ethical concerns among the private practitioners in our study about patient’s privacy and patients potentially lost to other healthcare facility. Private practitioners emphasized the need for intervention coherence and cooperation. We also observed pattern variations of these constructs across characteristics of private practitioners.