Community care workers boost TB case finding among hard-to-reach adults

Authors: Lesley Odental

According to two studies presented at the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health held in Cape Town last December, community care worker active case findings is an effective tool for increasing TB case detection in hard-to-reach populations. Early detection and treatment of people with active TB is crucial to decrease TB transmission, and community care workers have been shown to play an important role in case finding among vulnerable populations.

In the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, 37 semi-literature volunteer community care workers screened 1665 people for the signs and symptoms of TB and diabetes in a study of active TB case finding conducted in the Umziyathi municipality. According to the study presenter, Dr Derek Turner of the Umvoti AIDS Centre, Greytown, Kwazulu Natal, caregivers are able to convince community members with signs and symptoms of the disease to seek care at primary health facilities.

In Blantyre, Malawi’s second largest city, a study of the patient characteristics and contribution to overall caseload from three different TB case finding strategies showed that between January 2011 and August 2014, 91% of cases were identified through passive case finding, while only 1.4% of cases were identified through community worker active case finding. However, cases identified through lay workers were significantly more likely to be HIV-negative and smear-positive, making it an important TB care and treatment intervention.