Tools
Tools
Datiko, Daniel G, Yassin, Mohammed A, Theobald, Sally 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9053-211X, Blok, Lucie, Suvanand, Sahu, Creswell, Jacob and Cuevas, Luis ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6581-0587
(2017)
'Health extension workers improve tuberculosis case finding and treatment outcome in Ethiopia: a large-scale implementation study.'. BMJ Global Health, Vol 2, Issue 4, e000390.
|
Text
BMJ_e000390.full.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (676kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of death in Ethiopia. One of the main barriers for TB control is the lack of access to health services. We evaluated a diagnostic and treatment service for TB based on the health extension workers (HEW) of the Ethiopian Health Extension Programme in Sidama Zone, with 3.5 million population. We added the services to the HEW routines and evaluated their effect over 4.5 years. 1024 HEWs were trained to identify individuals with symptoms of TB, request sputum samples and prepare smears. Smears were transported to designated laboratories. Individuals with TB were offered treatment at home or the local health post. A second zone (Hadiya) with 1.2 million population was selected as control. We compared TB case notification rates (CNR) and treatment outcomes in the zones 3 years before and 4.5 years after intervention. HEWs identified 216 165 individuals with symptoms and 27 918 (12%) were diagnosed with TB. Smear-positive TB CNR increased from 64 (95% CI 62.5 to 65.8) to 127 (95% CI 123.8 to 131.2) and all forms of TB increased from 102 (95% CI 99.1 to 105.8) to 177 (95% CI 172.6 to 181.0) per 100 000 population in the first year of intervention. In subsequent years, the smear-positive CNR declined by 9% per year. There was no change in CNR in the control area. Treatment success increased from 76% before the intervention to 95% during the intervention. Patients lost to follow-up decreased from 21% to 3% (p<0.001). A community-based package significantly increased case finding and improved treatment outcome. Implementing this strategy could help meet the Ethiopian Sustainable Development Goal targets.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | W General Medicine. Health Professions > W 21.5 Allied health personnel. Allied health professions WA Public Health > WA 30 Socioeconomic factors in public health (General) WF Respiratory System > Tuberculosis > WF 200 Tuberculosis (General) |
| Faculty: Department: | Clinical Sciences & International Health > Clinical Sciences Department Clinical Sciences & International Health > International Public Health Department |
| Digital Object Identifer (DOI): | https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000390 |
| SWORD Depositor: | JISC Pubrouter |
| Depositing User: | Stacy Murtagh |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Jan 2018 15:46 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Jan 2018 15:46 |
| URI: | https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/7964 |
Statistics
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit Item |