Trial reportTrials2015
Informal Health Provider and Practical Approach to Lung Health interventions to improve the detection of chronic airways disease and tuberculosis at primary care level in Malawi: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in Trials, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Using mHealth Technologies for Case Finding in Tuberculosis and Other Infectious Diseases in Africa: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Pooled it
- Educational interventions for health professionals managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Technology-integrated nursing interventions to improve adherence to tuberculosis medication: a scoping review.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Management of chronic lung diseases in Sudan and Tanzania: how ready are the country health systems?BMC health services research · 2021Article
- A syndromic approach to assess diagnosis and management of patients presenting with respiratory symptoms to healthcare facilities in Vietnam.ERJ open research · 2021Article
- Access to health care for people with disabilities in rural Malawi: what are the barriers?BMC public health · 2020Article
- Direct costs of illness of patients with chronic cough in rural Malawi-Experiences from Dowa and Ntchisi districts.PloS one · 2019Article
- Lung Function of Children at Three Sites of Varying Ambient Air Pollution Levels in Uganda: A Cross Sectional Comparative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Community prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms in rural Malawi: Implications for policy.PloS one · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn developing countries like Malawi, further investigation is rare after patients with chronic cough test negative for tuberculosis. Chronic airways disease has presentations that overlap with tuberculosis. However, chronic airways disease is often unrecognised due to a lack of diagnostic services. Within developing countries, referral systems at primary health care level are weak and patients turn to unskilled informal health providers to seek health care. Delayed diagnosis and treatment of these diseases facilitates increased severity and tuberculosis transmission. The World Health Organisation developed the Practical Approach to Lung Health strategy which has been shown to improve the management of both tuberculosis and chronic airways disease. The guidelines address the need for integrated guidelines for tuberculosis and chronic airways disease. Engaging with informal health providers has been shown to be effective in improving health services uptake. However, it is not known whether engaging community informal health providers would have a positive impact in the implementation of the Practical Approach to Lung Health strategy. We will use a cluster randomised controlled trial to determine the effect of using the two interventions to improve case detection and treatment of patients with tuberculosis and chronic airways disease.
methodsA three-arm cluster randomised trial design will be used. A primary health centre catchment population will form a cluster, which will be randomly allocated to one of the arms. The first arm personnel will receive the Practical Approach to Lung Health strategy intervention. In addition to this strategy, the second arm personnel will receive training of informal health providers. The third arm is the control. The effect of interventions will be evaluated by community surveys. Data regarding the diagnosis and management of chronic cough will be gathered from primary health centres. DISCUSSION: This trial seeks to determine the effect of Informal Health Provider and Practical Approach to Lung Health interventions on the detection and management of chronic airways disease and tuberculosis at primary care level in Malawi.
trial registrationThe unique identification number for the registry is PACTR201411000910192--21 November 2014.
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