01 Jul Bangladesh: BRAC screens more than 120,000 people in 5 months using modern diagnostic tool
[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_separator type=”normal” thickness=”2″ up=”20″ down=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”nivo” interval=”3″ images=”1427,1428″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]For more than a decade now, BRAC has been networking with formal and informal health care provider for referral, diagnosis, notification and treatment as a part of PPM initiatives. Over the past few months, PPM interventions have been linked with new TB diagnostic centers equipped with modern diagnostic facilities (chest x-ray, GeneXpert) throughout Bangladesh. Driven by the aim to increase TB case detection and to reduce diagnostic delays, the approach seeks to engage all health care providers for ensuring proper notification of all diagnosed people with TB and linking these to appropriate treatment.
Since private providers are often the first point of contact for people seeking health services, BRAC has created a mechanism to strengthen collaboration between the National TB Programme (NTP), public hospitals and private sector health care providers. The mechanism ensures that quality TB control national TB reporting is practiced among both public and increasingly private TB service providers.
To ensure that many more private health care providers become actively engaged in the PPM model, various awareness programs have been carried out to sensitize private and informal providers about their critical role in finding Bangladesh’s missing people with TB. Staff involved in implementing the PPM activities has also been trained through project orientation and training sessions.
To successfully find the missing people with TB, BRAC has established 62 centers with chest x-ray facilities – 23 of which are also equipped with GeneXpert – in 42 district towns and 11 city corporations. The centers have been put under a joint online recording and reporting system to ease data collection.
Together, these efforts have resulted in an increase in the number of people screened for TB. Over 120,000 cases have been screened and archived in the online database in a five months period (January-May 2018). At the chest x-ray & GeneXpert centers alone, more than 67.000 chest x-rays were performed, with nearly 1 in 5 x-rays showing abnormalities. More than 19.000 GeneXpert tests were performed, of which more than 3800 (19%) people were detected with drug-sensitive TB and 130 (0.5%) people were detected with rifampicin-resistant (RR)-TB. In addition, 2260 people were clinically diagnosed at these centers. During the same period, the centers equipped with chest x-ray machines performed more than 52.000 chest x-rays of which nearly 1 in 3 showed abnormalities. More than 2670 (5%) people were clinically diagnosed with TB disease.
BRAC will continue to scale up its PPM model, aiming for increased outreach to private providers and enhanced coverage of public and private medical college hospitals in TB control activities. The approach is in line with the country’s PPM Strategic Plan (SP) 2016-2020, likewise seeking to ensure partner coordination and collaboration as well as more harmonization of efforts towards eliminating TB in Bangladesh.
Going forward, BRAC also plans to put more emphasis on active TB case finding interventions. Effective linkage with the private providers will be key and differently tailored PPM approaches are expected to ensure success of the model to screen, diagnose, treat and notify as many people with TB as possible.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]