• Grace Muzanyi, David K Mafigiri, Robert Salata, Moses Joloba, Jackson Mukonzo, Mohammad Ntale, Paul Mubiri, and Godfrey Bbosa.
• Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Makerere College of Health Sciences.
• Afr Health Sci. 2023 Dec 1; 23 (4): 354135-41.

BackgroundAntiretroviral hair drug levels are currently being used to monitor adherence to HIV treatment. There is currently a dearth of literature on the preferred technique(s) of hair harvest for medical testing in the context of African multicultural settings.ObjectiveTo explore the preferred techniques(s) of hair harvest for medical testing among TB patients.MethodsWe used a descriptive phenomenological approach to conduct interviews for 15 TB patients from the 06th through the 24th of June 2022. Data was organized by N-VIVO version 10 and analysed step by step using a thematic analytical approach.ResultsParticipants aged <30 years were more knowledgeable, positively perceived, and experienced about the salon-based hair cutting technique compared to those aged≥30 years old. Participants aged ≥30 had experience, flexibility to use, and were knowledgeable in all three techniques, Overall, for all age categories (<30,30-40 and >40 years), majority of the respondents were knowledgeable, flexible and experienced in using all the three techniques.ConclusionThe majority of TB patients were knowledgeable, experienced and flexible about the hair cutting techniques however, efforts are needed to educate the youth that hair for medical testing can be cut by any of the three techniques without changing their cosmetic look.© 2023 Muzanyi G et al.

20 keywords...

hide…