Healthcare providers' and community stakeholders' perception of using drones for tuberculosis diagnosis in Nepal: an exploratory qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In rural Nepal, poor road and transport networks and few testing laboratories impede tuberculosis diagnosis. A drone transport system was established to transport sputum samples to laboratories with advanced molecular diagnostic machines - GeneXpert MTB/RIF. This study explored the perceptions of using drones for tuberculosis diagnosis among community stakeholders, female community health volunteers, and healthcare providers from communities with drones implemented and without drone programs.

Methods

In December 2019, we conducted focus group discussions in two drone-implemented and three without drone programs. We purposively selected 40 participants: Female community health volunteers (n=16), community stakeholders (n=18), and healthcare providers (n=6). Focus g

SUBMITTER: Dixit K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11616345 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature