Research Paper on:
DOT Educational Brochure/Project Proposal

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction The purpose of this chapter to offer an extensive overview the topic of TB. This overview begins with specific information about TB, the disease  and its pathophysiology as well as other factors. This background information is crucial for understanding the principal questions that will be presented in the educational brochure that is the focus  of this study proposal. These questions are: "Why Direct Observation Therapy (DOT)?" and "Why do patients need DOT?" This chapter will also present the theoretical foundation for conducting this study  and its relationship to the topic before concluding with the chapter summary. Background information on TB Diagnosis: A positive TB skin test, exposure to someone who is known to  have TB, as well as the patient experiencing any of the known symptoms of TB are all suggestive of this diagnosis. Tests to confirm the diagnosis vary in "sensitivity, specificity,  speed and cost" (Frieden, et al, 2003, p. 877). Confirmation from chest X-ray is a common approach and sputum cultures are also often analyzed. Pathophysiology: People when they speak,  laugh, sing, cough or sneeze inadvertently spray tiny airborne droplets that carry the TB bacterium. Because these droplets are microscopic, they can remain airborne for extended periods of time,  that is, minutes, even hours later, simply walking into a room that was shared with someone who has pulmonary TB exposes that person to the contagion (Frieden, et al, 2003).  When a droplet is inhaled it lodges in the alveoli of the distal airways in the lungs (Frieden, et al, 2003). This initiates a course of physiological reactions that either  successfully contain the infection or start a progression that results in an active form of the disease (Frieden, et al, 2003). In the majority of people, immunity to TB develops