Project Description
Author: Hasan et al.
Summary:
Bangladesh is one of the highest tuberculosis (TB)-burdened countries in the world. To mitigate this high burden of morbidity and mortality from TB, the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) has been launched in Bangladesh, adopting the key principles of government stewardship and accountability, strong coalition with civil society organizations and communities, and adaptation of targets and strategy at the country level. However, the NTP of Bangladesh is focused mainly on the government sector, despite the private sector being an important constituent of the healthcare system of Bangladesh. According to the reports of the NTP, only 20% of the total TB cases are reported by private medical practitioners and private hospitals. In this context, the involvement of private medical practitioners in the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) of Bangladesh would increase the case notification rate. Hence, the present study will be conducted with an objective of understanding the perception of private practitioners regarding TB case notification as well as the impact of their involvement on the TB case notification rate in the selected area.
The present study will be an interventional study that will be conducted in Faridpur district, one of the lowest districts in TB case notification in Bangladesh, from July 2023 to December 2023. Study participants will be specialist and general physicians who are practicing in private hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centers in the geographic location of Faridpur district. After recruitment of the participants, a face-to-face interview will be conducted to collect information related to their specialization, the number of TB cases they have diagnosed or treated in the past 6 months, and their awareness of the government’s order for mandatory TB notification. After completion of the baseline survey, all the included physicians will be provided with a one-day training for the orientation of the components of the National Tuberculosis Control Program of Bangladesh. Finally, the TB patient referral and notification form along with contact details of the regional designated personnel of the NTP will be provided to the physicians to notify the TB patients from their private practice to the nearest DOTS corner.
The evaluation of the intervention will be conducted three months after training and initiation of the intervention. The primary outcome variable of the present study will be the number of TB patients notified by private medical practitioners. The secondary outcome variable of the present study will be the change in the case notification rate (CNR) of tuberculosis compared to the preintervention period. All the data regarding the TB CNR will be retrieved from the e-TBManager, which is a live reporting system of the NTP of Bangladesh.
The findings of the study will guide public and private sector health providers together to work toward achieving a common public health goal of elimination of TB from Bangladesh.
Status: Ongoing
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