Impact of a tuberculosis treatment adherence intervention versus usual care on treatment completion rates: results of a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

With the global shortage of skilled health workers estimated at 7.2 million, outpatient tuberculosis (TB) care is commonly task-shifted to lay health workers (LHWs) in many low- and middle-income countries where the shortages are greatest. While shown to improve access to care and some health outcomes including TB treatment outcomes, lack of training and supervision limit the effectiveness of LHW programs. Our objective was to refine and evaluate an intervention designed to address common causes of non-adherence to TB treatment and LHW knowledge and skills training needs.

Methods

We employed a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. Participants included 103 health centres (HCs) providing TB care in four districts in Malawi, randomized 1:1 stratified by dis

SUBMITTER: Puchalski Ritchie LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7731739 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature