Study limitations
TB, MDRTB, PTB
The findings of this study need to be interpreted with certain limitations in mind, as the study only included PTB patients. Thus, the study’s results could not be generalized for all types of TB, which is the Extra-PTB patients, Multi-drug Resistant TB (MDRTB), Latent TB or even pediatric TB cases. Even though PTB patients with underlying comorbidities are important group of TB patients, they were excluded from the study, as their HRQoL might already being affected before the diagnosis of TB. The sample size was small and sample population was also from a region only. Secondly, it was not blinded so the patients knew who was receiving which intervention. Thirdly, there may have been some “contamination” between the groups, with the same healthcare providers taking care of both of them. Other limitation was the possibility of the reporting bias. Since the HRQoL is a subjective perception of each individual, and it is a proxy-parameter of health outcome influenced by many factors, which in the end could leads to this type of bias. Irrespective of the limitation, this study provides early information that was lacking before in Melaka state, Malaysia.