Re-evaluating the merits of decentralization as a core strategy for effective delivery of drug-resistant tuberculosis care in Pakistan.

ABSTRACT: Decentralized, person-centred models of care delivery for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continue to be under-resourced in high-burden TB countries. The implementation of such models-made increasingly urgent by the COVID-19 pandemic-are key to addressing gaps in DR-TB care. We abstracted data of rifampicin-resistant (RR)/multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients initiated on treatment at 11 facilities between 2010 and 2017 in Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. We analysed trends in treatment outcomes relating to programme expansion to peri-urban and rural areas and estimated driving distance from patient residence to treatment facility. Among the 5586 RR/MDR-TB patients in the analysis, overall treatment success decreased from 82% to 66% between 2010 and 2017, as th

SUBMITTER: Khan U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9384034 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature