Frontline workers in India's tuberculosis (TB) elimination efforts: a street-level bureaucracy perspective.

ABSTRACT:

Background

India's fight against Tuberculosis (TB) has evolved from the National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program (NTCP) in 1962 to the current National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), guided by the National Strategic Plan (2020-2025). Despite ambitious goals, TB incidence remains high at 199 cases per lakh, with only a 3% annual reduction, far from the 15% target. Systemic issues, especially in human resources, hamper effective policy implementation. Frontline workers (FWs), crucial to the program, face heavy workloads, inadequate upgradation of training, and limited support, yet their voices are rarely heard. This study uses Lipsky's Street-Level Bureaucracy (SLB) theory to explore FWs' challenges under NTEP and offers insights to strengthen India's TB elimination efforts.

Met

SUBMITTER: Singh V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12754887 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature