The many gaps observed in the cascade of care of tuberculosis (TB) child contacts occur mostly in the screening, preventive therapy (PT) initiation and PT completion steps and the main drivers of these gaps are considered to be the health system infrastructure, limited worker resources and parents' reluctance to bring their children to the facility for screening. There would be great advantages of using a symptom-based screening at community level where only the symptomatic contacts are referred to hospital for further evaluation and asymptomatic contacts are started on PT in the community. Household or community-based screening is likely to improve the uptake and acceptability of child contact screening and management as well as adherence to PT and to reduce cost and workload at facility level. This study proposes to compare the cascade of care between two models for TB screening and management of household TB child contacts in two high TB burden and limited resource countries, Cameroon and Uganda. In the facility-based model, children will be screened at facility (Cameroon) or household level (Uganda) and preventive therapy initiation, refills of PT therapy and follow-up will be done at facility level. In the intervention group (community-based model), child contacts will be screened in the household by a community health worker (CHW). Those with symptoms suggestive of TB will be referred to the facility for TB investigations. Asymptomatic child contacts from high risk groups (under-5 years or HIV infected 5-14) will be initiated on PT (3 months isoniazid-rifampicin) in the household. Refills of PT therapy will also be done in the communities by the CHW. In both models, symptomatic children requiring further investigations for TB diagnosis will be referred to a health facility.
The primary study objective is to compare the proportion of household child TB contacts eligible for PT (under-5 years and HIV-infected children 5-14 years without active TB) who initiate and complete PT using facility-based and decentralized community-based models of care for contact screening and management. Secondary objectives are: 1. To compare the facility and community-based models in terms of: * The full cascade of care for the initiation and completion of PT in child TB contacts \< 5 years or HIV+ children 5-14 years . * Cascade of care for the detection and treatment of TB in child contacts (all ages): * PT tolerability and adherence among eligible child contacts initiated on PT. * Treatment uptake and outcomes for child contacts diagnosed with TB . * Child contact outcomes at 6 months after enrollment for all child contacts. * Acceptability by the parents/guardians, health personnel and community of the different models of care. * Cost and cost-effectiveness of the different models. * Fidelity of the implementation of the model activities as compared to the protocol. 2. To assess the number of adult contact cases diagnosed with TB through the community-based screening. 3. To compare between the pre- (baseline assessment) and post-intervention (by model of care) data related to: * Children diagnosed with TB and registered at facility level and their treatment outcome. * Adults diagnosed with TB and registered at facility level and their treatment outcome. * PT initiation and outcomes. This study will be implemented under the frame of the Catalyzing Pediatric TB Innovation (CaP TB) Project, funded by Unitaid and implemented by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). The goal of CaP TB is to improve the pediatric TB morbidity and mortality by catalyzing the wide uptake of the new first-line fixed dose combination drugs for children and optimizing the use of these drugs through improved case detection and innovative models of care. In both models of care, contacts with TB suggestive symptoms will be investigated for TB at the cluster facility that is supported by EGPAF within the CaP TB project. In Cameroon the CaP TB project will be implemented in the Central and Littoral regions and in Uganda in the South-West region.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
1,400
Symptom-based screening of tuberculosis household child contacts by community health workers; initiation of preventive therapy (3 months of a fixed-dose combination of rifampicin-isoniazid or 6 months isoniazid for HIV+ children on protease inhibitors) in the household by a nurse; follow-up of children under preventive therapy by a community health worker for eligible children at community level, and referral of presumptive tuberculosis cases (children and adults) to the facility.
Hôpital de district Bonassama
Bonabéri, Cameroon
Hôpital de district Log-Baba
Douala, Cameroon
Centre Médical d'arrondissement Delangue
Edéa, Cameroon
Hôpital de district Mbalmayo
Mbalmayo, Cameroon
Hôpital de district Mfou
Mfou, Cameroon
Hôpital régional Nkongsamba
Nkongsamba, Cameroon
Hôpital de district Okola
Okola, Cameroon
Hôpital de district Olembe
Olembé, Cameroon
Hôpital de district St Jean de Malte
Penja, Cameroon
Hôpital de district Yoko
Yoko, Cameroon
...and 15 more locations
Completion of preventive therapy
Proportion of child TB contacts \<5 years of age and HIV-infected children of 5-14 years of age who initiate and complete the PT of all child contacts \<5 years of age and HIV-infected children of 5-14 years of age declared by the index case
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children screened
Number of children screened among child contacts \<5 years or HIV-infected 5-14 years declared by the index case
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children eligible for PT
Number of children eligible for PT among screened children
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children started on PT
Number of children started on PT among those eligible for PT
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children who did not complete PT
Number of children who did not complete PT among those started on PT
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children with presumptive TB
Number of children with symptoms suggestive of TB among screened children (\< 15 years)
Time frame: 1 month
Proportion of children investigated for TB
Number of children with presumptive TB investigated for TB
Time frame: 1 month
Proportion of children diagnosed with TB
Number of children diagnosed with TB among those with symptoms suggestive of TB
Time frame: 1 month
Proportion of children started on TB treatment
Number of children with TB diagnosis who are started on TB treatment
Time frame: 1 month
Proportion of adult contacts screened
Number of adult contacts screened among household identified adult contacts
Time frame: 1 month
Proportion of adults presumptive TB cases
Number of adults with symptoms suggestive of TB among those screened for TB
Time frame: 1 month
Proportion of adults diagnosed with TB
Number of adults presumptive TB cases diagnosed with TB
Time frame: 1 month
Proportion of children with serious adverse events
Number of children with serious adverse events among children started on PT
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children with adverse event of interest
Number of children with adverse event of interest (peripheral neuropathy, clinical hepatotoxicity) among children on PT
Time frame: 6 months
Treatment adherence
Ratio of PT dose taken by the child over the total number of doses prescribed
Time frame: 6 months
Treatment outcomes of children started on TB treatment
* Cured * Treatment completed * Failure * Death * Lost to follow up * Transferred out
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children diagnosed with TB
Number of children diagnosed with TB after initiation of PT or children not initiated on PT and not diagnosed with TB at baseline
Time frame: 6 months
TB case detection during pre-intervention period
Number of patients registered in the facility TB register one year before intervention
Time frame: 2 years
Proportion of children among all registered TB cases during pre-intervention period
Number of children among all patients diagnosed with TB and registered in the facility TB register one year before intervention
Time frame: 2 years
TB treatment outcome of registered TB patients during pre-intervention period
* Cured * Treatment completed * Failure * Death * Lost to follow up * Transferred out
Time frame: 2 years
Number of children started on PT during pre-intervention period
Number of children started on PT from the facility PT register one year before intervention
Time frame: 2 years
Completion rate of children started on PT intervention during pre-intervention period
Number of children who completed PT among those started on PT from the facility PT register one year before
Time frame: 2 years
Number of household visits by CHW
Number of visits by the CHW to the household for contact screening per household
Time frame: 2 years
Proportion of parents/guardians who accept household visit
Acceptability of household visit for contact screening
Time frame: 2 years
Reasons of refusal of household visit
Description of screening failures
Time frame: 2 years
Preference for household visit versus facility visit
This outcome measures whether the parent/guardian prefers bringing child to the facility rather than having someone coming to his household
Time frame: 2 years
Critical events experienced by CHW during household visit
Description of critical events during house visit and how these where dealt with
Time frame: 2 years
Transport cost for household visit by CHW
Cost of transportation for the CHW to go from the health facility to a household
Time frame: 2 years
Transport cost for parents/guardian for facility-based screening
Cost supported by families to bring child contact to the facility for screening
Time frame: 2 years
Time spent to perform household contact screening visit
It includes the time to reach the household, the time spent in the household and the time to go back to the facility for CHW
Time frame: 2 years
Proportion of delivered activities compared to the intended activities of the model
This outcome will assess fidelity to study procedures
Time frame: 2 years
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