District Clinics for Out Patient Treatment of Tuberculous Problem Patients

¹ Tuberculosis Control Division, Department of Public Health, City and County of San Francisco

1. The development of a special team to operate district clinics for the out-patient treatment of tuberculous problem patients has been described.

2. The clinics are specifically designed to meet ethnic, social, educational and behavioral patterns of the various groups who live in areas of high incidence and high prevalence of tuberculosis.

3. The effectiveness of the program has been demonstrated by the reduction of the number of missed clinic appointments from 25 per cent to 6.6 per cent during the first year of operation. The most significant reduction was among the Chinese where an afternoon clinic was more acceptable in the cultural patterns of Chinatown.

4. The clinics serving Skid Row and the lowest socioeconomic level of Negroes in the Fillmore area showed a marked improvement, but were not as successful as the clinic in Chinatown.