The effects of decentralisation of tuberculosis services in the East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea
Describes the effect of Clinical Outreach service on the use of TB diagnostic and treatment services from 2014 to 2017
Abstract
Setting
The tuberculosis (TB) programmes at the Nonga General Hospital, Rabaul Urban Clinic and Kerevat District Hospital in East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.
Background
In East New Britain, TB care was mainly offered by the General Hospital, resulting in limited community-based care and poor treatment outcomes. In 2016, TB services were decentralised from the provincial to the district level by 1) training health workers, 2) increasing community awareness of TB, and 3) providing a weekly Clinical Outreach (TACO) service.
Objective
To describe the effect of TACO on the use of TB diagnostic and treatment services from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2017.
This research was supported by the UK Department for International Development’s Operational Research Capacity Building Programme led by the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union)
Citation
Maha A, Majumdar SS, Main S, Phillip W, Witari K, Schulz J, du Cros P. The effects of decentralisation of tuberculosis services in the East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. Public Health Action. 2019;9(1):S43–9.