Treatment adherence among sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in mountainous areas in China.

Background: We carried out an investigation in five provinces in China to assess treatment adherence and identify factors associated with insufficient treatment adherence in tuberculosis (TB) patients in mountainous, rural areas of China.

Methods: In each of the five provinces, all counties with > 80% mountainous area were stratified into three groups according to their gross domestic product. In each stratum, one county was randomly sampled.