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D F Wares

Publications and source records attributed to D F Wares.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Source of retreatment cases under the revised national TB control programme in Rajasthan, India, 2003.

BACKGROUND: Three years after state-wide DOTS coverage and achievement of global targets for detection and cure, the proportion of sputum-positive retreatment cases remained high in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. AIM: To determine source, accuracy of categorisation and treatment outcomes in Category II sputum-positive retreatment cases registered from January to March 2003 in five districts of Rajasthan. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two hundred consecutive Category II sputum-positive retreatment cases were identified from the tuberculosis register and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Categorisation was correct in 195 (97.5%) of retreatment cases interviewed. Treatment after default (TAD) comprised 84.6% (165/195) of interviewees, with 13.3% (n = 26) relapses and 2.1% (n = 4) failure cases. Of the TAD cases, 84.8% (n = 140) had defaulted from previous treatment in the private sector. Only 6.1% (n = 10) had defaulted from Category II DOTS treatment. The most unfavourable treatment outcome seen amongst interviewees was default, as also described in the national data. CONCLUSION: TADs constituted the majority of interviewed retreatment cases (84.6%), and were overwhelmingly being generated by irregular treatment in the private sector. Further involvement of the private sector in the DOTS programme in Rajasthan is needed to stop the creation of further retreatment cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Effectiveness of urban community volunteers in directly observed treatment of tuberculosis patients: a field report from Haryana, North India.

A tuberculosis (TB) unit covering a population of 600000 in Gurgaon District of Haryana State, India, where the DOTS-based RNTCP has been implemented since April 2000. Treatment success rate, as recorded in the TB register, of new sputum smear-positive patients receiving directly observed treatment (DOT) from community volunteers was comparable with that of patients receiving DOT from government health workers (78% vs. 77%). The proportion of patients with community volunteers increased significantly with time (13% in 2000 to 25% in 2002), even in the absence of financial incentives. In this model of community volunteer involvement in an urban TB control programme, the primary responsibility for returning late patients to treatment was with the staff of the District TB Centre.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed2003

Non-adherence to tuberculosis treatment in the eastern Tarai of Nepal.

SETTING: Tarai districts, eastern Nepal. OBJECTIVES: To identify potential methods of increasing adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment by determining factors that patients felt influenced adherence. METHODS: New pulmonary TB patients registered from July to November 1998 with an outcome of non-adherence to treatment (NA) were identified from District TB Registers, traced and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. An equivalent number of adherent (A) patients were interviewed. RESULTS: Of 81 NA patients traced, 30 were interviewed, 16 had been incorrectly classified, age was incorrectly recorded in four, 13 had migrated and 18 were not found. The groups were similar in demographics, type and knowledge of TB. More A patients knew their diagnosis (P = 0.07) and reported haemoptysis as an initial symptom (P = 0.03). NA patients had longer travel to a health facility (P < 0.001), and fewer had been informed by health care workers (HCW) about the consequences of not completing treatment. The most common reasons given for stopping treatment were side-effects, HCWs' mistakes or behaviour, and health service failure. Desire for cure and knowledge that TB was curable were most the important reasons for completing treatment. CONCLUSION: Non-adherence seemed related to treatment delivery failures. The health system needs strengthening in Nepal. Intensified HCW training and supervision, better health education for patients and families, more flexibility for treatment supervisors, adequate supplies for treatment centres and decentralisation of treatment delivery to the lowest health service level practicable are urgently needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Health policy, systems and services research and the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme.

Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) has become the accepted standard for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. DOTS is the best treatment strategy available today, but it does not and cannot remain static. Health policy, systems and services research (HPSSR) described in the context of TB control, offers significant gains at relatively low cost and in a shorter timeframe. A rational framework is necessary to develop a research agenda and select priorities, especially when resources are limited. India has adopted, adapted and implemented DOTS strategy as the RNTCP. RNTCP has a clear set of programme objective ie, (a) cure of at least 85% of registered new smear positive pulmonary TB (NSP) cases and (b) detection of at least 70% of estimated NSP cases existing in the community. The RNTCP must be supported by research that continuously provides better tools for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed2001

DOT for patients with limited access to health care facilities in a hill district of eastern Nepal.

SETTING: The hill district in Nepal, where access to health care facilities is difficult. OBJECTIVE: To compare results before and after a decentralised directly observed treatment (DOT) intervention. DESIGN: Prospective study of patients registered in Dhankuta district, Nepal, 1996-1999. Patients received their intensive phase treatment under health worker supervision via one of three DOT options: 1) ambulatory from the peripheral government health facilities; 2) ambulatory from an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) TB clinic in district centre; or 3) resident in INGO TB hostel in district centre. Historical data from 1995-1996, with unsupervised short-course chemotherapy, were used for comparison. RESULTS: Of 307 new cases, respectively 126 (41%), 86 (28%) and 95 (31%) took their intensive phase treatment via options 1, 2 and 3. Smear conversion (at 2 months) and cure rates in new smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis cases were respectively 81.6% (vs. 58.8% historical, P = 0.001) and 84.9% (vs. 76.7% historical, P = 0.03). Overall costs to the INGO provider fell by 7%, mainly as a result of staffing reductions in the INGO services made possible by rationalisation with government services during the intervention. CONCLUSION: By offering varied DOT delivery routes, including an in-patient option, satisfactory results are possible with DOT even in areas where access to health care facilities is difficult. Provision of in-patient care via an INGO TB hostel allowed a significant proportion of new cases (31%) to receive their intensive phase treatment who otherwise may have had difficulty accessing treatment, due either to the distance to the nearest health facility or to disease severity. Substitution of government hospital beds or local hotel beds for the INGO hostel beds may allow the model to be reproduced elsewhere in similar geographical conditions in Nepal, but further studies should be performed in a non-INGO supported district beforehand.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗
PubMed2000

Is TB contact screening relevant in a developing country setting? Experiences from eastern Nepal, 1996-1998.

SETTING: A tuberculosis programme run by a non-governmental organisation in eight hill and mountain districts of eastern Nepal. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of contact screening on case-finding. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study of contacts of smear-positive, smear-negative and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis patients diagnosed and registered during 1996-1998 ('index cases'). Contacts, defined as household members identified by index cases, were screened by sputum examination; two positive smears were taken to indicate smear-positive pulmonary disease. RESULTS: Approximately 50% (668) of registered cases identified contacts; 75% (2298) of the contacts identified provided one or more sputum specimens. An overall smear-positive case yield of 0.61% (14) was obtained from contacts tested, all except one of which were contacts of smear-positive index cases. For smear-positive index cases with a smear grading of > or = 2+, the yield was 7.2 times greater (P = 0.04) than for those with a grading of 1+. CONCLUSION: In this setting, sputum examination of household contacts of smear-negative and extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases is not justified. Further assessment is needed to evaluate the utility of testing contacts of smear-positive cases without symptom screening, and whether cost effectiveness can be improved by restricting testing to contacts of cases with high bacterial (> or = 2+) loads.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1999

Developing nursing practice as part of the collaborative TB control programme, Tomsk, Siberia.

SETTING: Review of nursing practice, identification of training needs and implementation of training for nurses working in the Tomsk Oblast' Tuberculosis Services (TOTBS), Russia. OBJECTIVE: Preparation of TOTBS nurses for the implementation of a WHO-style TB control programme in January 1997. METHODS: Nursing services and training needs were assessed through observation visits to a number of institutions providing care for TB patients, semi-structured interviews, and discussions at staff meetings. Training sessions focused on the WHO DOTS strategy, patient education and default tracing. An evaluation visit focused on nurses' attitudes and levels of treatment completion. RESULTS: Out of a total of 165 TB cases notified in Tomsk Oblast' between January and March 1997, 53 were started on DOTS on an ambulatory basis. Five patients who defaulted returned to treatment within five days (range 2-5) and no patients were lost to follow up. Improved compliance was attributed to better patient education offered by nurses and a reliable supply of medication. Quarterly reports continue to show satisfactory levels of treatment completion. CONCLUSIONS: Obstacles to the development of nursing practice included resistance to change and low morale due to enormous workloads, no pay and staff shortages. Motivation improved through the setting of achievable targets.

Communicable Disease Control↗