Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29794100›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2018

Linkage to care among adults being investigated for tuberculosis in South Africa: pilot study of a case manager intervention.

Noriah Maraba, Violet Chihota, Kerrigan McCarthy, Gavin J Churchyard, Alison D Grant

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Noriah MarabaThe Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-3974-5961
Violet ChihotaThe Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
Kerrigan McCarthySchool of Public Health, Faculty of Health Science, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
Gavin J ChurchyardThe Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
Alison D GrantSchool of Public Health, Faculty of Health Science, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
University of the Witwatersrand · ZAFIND · CHSouth African Medical Research Council · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe piloted an intervention to determine if support from a case manager would assist adults being investigated for tuberculosis (TB) to link into TB and HIV care.

designPilot interventional cohort study. PARTICIPANTS AND

settingPatients identified by primary healthcare clinic staff in South Africa as needing TB investigations were enrolled.

interventionParticipants were supported for 3 months by case managers who facilitated the care pathway by promoting HIV testing, getting laboratory results, calling patients to return for results and facilitating treatment initiation. OUTCOMES MEASURED: Linkage to TB care was defined as starting TB treatment within 28 days in those with a positive test result; linkage to HIV care, for HIV-positive people, was defined as having blood taken for CD4 count and, for those eligible, starting antiretroviral therapy within 3 months. Intervention implementation was measured by number of attempts to contact participants.

resultsAmong 562 participants (307 (54.6%) female, median age: 36 years (IQR 29-44)), most 477 (84.8%) had previously tested for HIV; of these, 328/475 (69.1%) self-reported being HIV-positive. Overall, 189/562 (33.6%) participants needed linkage to care (132 HIV care linkage only; 35 TB treatment linkage only; 22 both). Of 555 attempts to contact these 189 participants, 407 were to facilitate HIV care linkage, 78 for TB treatment linkage and 70 for both. At the end of 3-month follow-up, 40 participants had not linked to care (29 of the 132 (22.0%) participants needing linkage to HIV care only, 4 of the 35 (11.4%) needing to start on TB treatment only and 7 of the 22 (31.8%) needing both).

conclusionMany people testing for TB need linkage to care. Despite case manager support, non-linkage into HIV care remained higher than desirable, suggesting a need to modify this intervention before implementation. Innovative strategies to enable linkage to care are needed.

Indexed as

Case ManagersContinuity of Patient CareHealth Services AccessibilityPrimary Health CareAdultAmbulatory Care FacilitiesAnti-HIV AgentsCD4 Lymphocyte CountCohort StudiesFemaleHematologic TestsHIV InfectionsHumansMaleMass ScreeningPilot ProjectsAnti-HIV Agentspublic healthtuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID29794100
PMCPMC5988070
OpenAlexW2804569943

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.