Integrated Tuberculosis And Respiratory Care Research In Africa

03 Jul 20264 min read0 viewsJournal Feed

GIST (Key Takeaways)

Introduction Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are closely linked. Affected groups present with similar symptoms and share many risk factors (eg, poverty-related factors, smoking, occupational exposures).
PTB is itself an independent risk factor for chronic lung disease. However, in many high TB-incidence settings health services for these conditions are provided separately, with little integration of prevention, diagnosis or care.
Methods and analysis We describe a transdisciplinary programme of research investigating strategies for integrated TB-CRD care in Arusha, Tanzania, Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria, using clinical, health economic, health systems and qualitative research methods. A prospective clinical cohort study will describe the burden and impact of non-TB respiratory disease (eg, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, post-TB lung disease) among adolescents and adults presenting to primary and secondary health facilities with chronic cough who would normally be managed via TB care pathways.
Health economics methods will explore patient costs of non-TB respiratory disease, facility-level costs of integrated TB/respiratory diagnostics and will develop a modelling framework to estimate the costs and consequences of integration more broadly.