ArticleBMJ global health2019
Can community pharmacists improve tuberculosis case finding? A mixed methods intervention study in India.
Article in BMJ global health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Cough syrup buyers get referred but not tested: private pharmacy-based tuberculosis surveillance pilot in Jaipur, India.Public health action · 2026Article
- Delays in Tuberculosis Treatment Among People With Pulmonary Tuberculosis in East Africa: Findings From a Prospective Cohort Study.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Evaluation of a training intervention on tuberculosis case detection and management among community pharmacists in Lagos State, Nigeria.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Exploring facilitators and barriers to early TB case finding at private community pharmacies in Kampala, Uganda using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Can high private cough syrup sales act as a proxy for missed TB notifications in TB surveillance?Public health action · 2025Article
- Can we involve pharmacists as direct service providers for people with tuberculosis? A narrative review of current evidence.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2025Review
- Comparative analysis of the impact of portable digital X-ray on TB screening in hard-to-reach areas in Nigeria.Public health action · 2025Article
- A Call to Action: Empowering Pharmacists in Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Management.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Review
- Tuberculosis screening among cough suppressant buyers in pharmacies and drug outlets in Guinea: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2024Article
- Barriers and facilitators to tuberculosis diagnosis in Lima, Peru: a mixed methods study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Private pharmacies as healthcare providers in Odisha, India: analysis and implications for universal health coverage.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Pharmacy engagement in TB prevention and care: not if, but how?BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Use of standardised patients to assess tuberculosis case management by private pharmacies in Patna, India: A repeat cross-sectional study.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Development and Validation of the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Questionnaire for Community Pharmacy Personnel in Tuberculosis Case Detection, Drug Monitoring, and Education: A Study from Indonesia.Infection and drug resistance · 2023Article
- The pharmacy as a primary care provider.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Dispensing of antibiotics for tuberculosis patients using standardized patient approach at community pharmacies: results from a cross-sectional study in Pakistan.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- A Scoping Review on Accentuating the Pragmatism in the Implication of Mobile Health (mHealth) Technology for Tuberculosis Management in India.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Article
- Barriers and motivation for presumptive tuberculosis case referral: qualitative analysis among operators of community medicine outlets in Ghana.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Gaps and Interventions across the Diagnostic Care Cascade of TB Patients at the Level of Patient, Community and Health System: A Qualitative Review of the Literature.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionIndia has the world's highest burden of tuberculosis (TB). Private retail pharmacies are the preferred provider for 40% of patients with TB symptoms and up to 25% of diagnosed patients. Engaging pharmacies in TB screening services could improve case detection.
methodsA novel TB screening and referral intervention was piloted over 18 months, under the pragmatic staggered recruitment of 105 pharmacies in Patna, India. The intervention was integrated into an ongoing public-private mix (PPM) programme, with five added components: pharmacy training in TB screening, referral of patients with TB symptoms for a chest radiograph (CXR) followed by a doctor consultation, incentives for referral completion and TB diagnosis, short message service (SMS) reminders and field support. The intervention was evaluated using mixed methods.
results81% of pharmacies actively participated in the intervention. Over 132.49 pharmacy person-years of observation in the intervention group, 1674 referrals were made and 255 cases of TB were diagnosed. The rate of registration of symptomatic patients was 62 times higher in the intervention group compared with the control group (95% CI: 54 to 72). TB diagnosis was 25 times higher (95% CI: 20 to 32). Microbiological testing and test confirmation were also significantly higher among patients diagnosed in the intervention group (p<0.001). Perceived professional credibility, patient trust, symptom severity and providing access to a free screening test were seen to improve pharmacists' engagement in the intervention. Workload, patient demand for over-the-counter medicines, doctor consultation fees and programme documentation impeded engagement. An additional 240 cases of TB were attributed to the intervention, and the approximate cost incurred per case detected due to the intervention was US$100.
conclusionsIt is feasible and impactful to engage pharmacies in TB screening and referral activities, especially if working within existing public-private mix (PPM) programmes, appealing to pharmacies' business mindset and among pharmacies with strong community ties.
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