ArticleTropical medicine and infectious disease2019
Active Case Finding for Tuberculosis through TOUCH Agents in Selected High TB Burden Wards of Kolkata, India: A Mixed Methods Study on Outcomes and Implementation Challenges.
Article in Tropical medicine and infectious disease, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Barriers to engagement in the care cascade for tuberculosis disease in India: A systematic review of quantitative studies.PLoS medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Community views on active case finding for tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries: a qualitative evidence synthesis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effect of integrating traditional and modern healthcare systems on tuberculosis case detection in Ethiopia: a cluster randomized controlled study.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2025Trial
- Article
- Active case-finding for TB in India: Assessment of scale and quality benchmarks, time taken and use of rapid molecular diagnostic tests.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Impact of multiple consultations and switching in treatment-seeking in tuberculosis: Mathematical modelling and optimal control.PloS one · 2025Article
- Analysis on time delay of tuberculosis among adolescents and young adults in Eastern China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Magnitude and determinants of delay in diagnosis of tuberculosis patients in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis: 2020.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2022Article
- Capitalizing on facilitators and addressing barriers when implementing active tuberculosis case-finding in six districts of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a qualitative study with key stakeholders.Implementation science : IS · 2021Article
- Case finding strategies under National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP).The Indian journal of tuberculosis · 2020Review
- The Growing Importance of Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy and How Research and Innovation Can Enhance Its Implementation on the Ground.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2020Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
Active case finding (ACF) for tuberculosis (TB) was implemented in 60 selected high TB burden wards of Kolkata, India. Community volunteers called TOUCH (Targeted Outreach for Upliftment of Community Health) agents (TAs) identified and referred presumptive TB patients (PTBPs) to health facilities for TB diagnosis and treatment. We aimed to describe the "care cascade" of PTBPs that were identified during July to December 2018 and to explore the reasons for attrition as perceived by TAs and PTBPs. An explanatory mixed-methods study with a quantitative phase of cohort study using routinely collected data followed by descriptive qualitative study with in-depth interviews was conducted. Of the 3,86242 individuals that were enumerated, 1132 (0.3%) PTBPs were identified. Only 713 (63.0%) PTBPs visited a referred facility for TB diagnosis. TB was diagnosed in 177 (24.8%). The number needed to screen for one TB patient was 2183 individuals. The potential reasons for low yield were stigma and apprehension about TB, distrust about TA, wage losses for attending health facilities, and substance abuse among PTBPs. The yield of ACF was suboptimal with low PTBP identification rate and a high attrition rate. Interviewing each individual for symptoms of TB and supporting PTBPs for diagnosis through sputum collection and transport can be adopted to improve the yield.
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