Private sector tuberculosis care quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional standardised patients study of adherence to national TB guidelines in urban Nigeria.

ABSTRACT: Only a third of tuberculosis (TB) cases in Nigeria in 2020 were diagnosed and notified, in part due to low detection and under-reporting from the private health sector. Using a standardised patient (SP) survey approach, we assessed how management of presumptive TB in the private sector aligns with national guidelines and whether this differed from a study conducted before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 13 SPs presented a presumptive TB case to 511 private providers in urban areas of Lagos and Kano states in May and June 2021. Private provider case management was compared with national guidelines divided into three main steps: SP questioned about cough duration; sputum collection attempted for TB testing; and non-prescription of anti-TB medications, antibiotics and steroids. SP visits

SUBMITTER: Sassi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11575386 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature