Studies from Karolinska Institute Have Provided New Data on Tuberculosis (Factors influencing active tuberculosis case-finding policy development and implementation: a scoping review)

2020 JAN 16 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Data detailed on Mycobacterium Infections - Tuberculosis have been presented. According to news reporting originating in Stockholm, Sweden, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To explore antecedents, components and influencing factors on active case-finding (ACF) policy development and implementation. Scoping review, searching MEDLINE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the World Health Organization (WHO) Library from January 1968 to January 2018.”

Financial support for this research came from Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Karolinska Institute, “We excluded studies focusing on latent tuberculosis (TB) infection, passive case-finding, childhood TB and studies about effectiveness, yield, accuracy and impact without descriptions of how this evidence has/could influence ACF policy or implementation. We included any type of study written in English, and conducted frequency and thematic analyses. Seventy-three articles fulfilled our eligibility criteria. Most (67%) were published after 2010. The studies were conducted in all WHO regions, but primarily in Africa (22%), Europe (23%) and the Western-Pacific region (12%). Forty-one percent of the studies were classified as quantitative, followed by reviews (22%) and qualitative studies (12%). Most articles focused on ACF for tuberculosis contacts (25%) or migrants (32%). Fourteen percent of the articles described community-based screening of high-risk populations. Fifty-nine percent of studies reported influencing factors for ACF implementation; mostly linked to the health system (eg, resources) and the community/individual (eg, social determinants of health). Only two articles highlighted factors influencing ACF policy development (eg, politics). Six articles described WHO’s ACF-related recommendations as important antecedent for ACF. Key components of successful ACF implementation include health system capacity, mechanisms for integration, education and collaboration for ACF. We identified some main themes regarding the antecedents, components and influencing factors for ACF policy development and implementation. While we know much about facilitators and barriers for ACF policy implementation, we know less about to strengthen those facilitators and to overcome those barriers. A major knowledge gap remains when it comes to understanding which contextual factors influence ACF policy development.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Research is required to understand, inform and improve ACF policy development and implementation.”

For more information on this research see: Factors influencing active tuberculosis case-finding policy development and implementation: a scoping review. Bmj Open, 2019;9(12):e031284. (BMJ Publishing Group - http://group.bmj.com/; Bmj Open - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting O. Biermann, Dept. of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Additional authors for this research include K. Lonnroth, M. Caws and K. Viney.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031284. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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