Tuberculosis among economic migrants: a cross-sectional study of the risk of poor treatment outcomes and impact of a treatment adherence intervention among temporary residents in an urban district in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of avoidable deaths. Economic migrants represent a vulnerable population due to their exposure to medical and social risk factors. These factors expose them to higher risks for TB incidence and poor treatment outcomes. METHODS This cross-sectional study evaluated WHO-defined TB treatment outcomes among economic migrants in an urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. We measured the association of a patient's government-defined residency status with treatment success and loss to follow-up categories at baseline and performed a comparative interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to assess the impact of community-based adherence support on treatment outcomes. Key measures of interest of the ITS were the differences in step change (β) and post-intervention trend (β). RESULTS Short-term, inter-province migrants experienced lower treatment success (aRR = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.92-0.99], p = 0.010) and higher loss to follow-up (aOR = 1.98 [95% CI: 1.44-2.72], p  55 years of age (aRR = 0.93 [95% CI: 0.89-0.96], p < 0.001), relapse patients (aRR = 0.89 [95% CI: 0.84-0.94], p < 0.001), and retreatment patients (aRR = 0.62 [95% CI: 0.52-0.75], p < 0.001) had lower treatment success rates. TB/HIV co-infection was also associated with lower treatment success (aRR = 0.77 [95% CI: 0.73-0.82], p < 0.001) and higher loss to follow-up (aOR = 2.18 [95% CI: 1.55-3.06], p < 0.001). The provision of treatment adherence support increased treatment success (IRR(β) = 1.07 [95% CI: 1.00, 1.15], p = 0.041) and reduced loss to follow-up (IRR(β) = 0.17 [95% CI: 0.04, 0.69], p = 0.013) in the intervention districts. Loss to follow-up continued to decline throughout the post-implementation period (IRR(β) = 0.90 [95% CI: 0.83, 0.98], p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS Economic migrants, particularly those crossing provincial borders, have higher risk of poor treatment outcomes and should be prioritized for tailored adherence support. In light of accelerating urbanization in many regions of Asia, implementation trials are needed to inform evidence-based design of strategies for this vulnerable population

A comparative impact evaluation of two human resource models for community-based active tuberculosis case finding in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Background: To achieve the WHO End TB Strategy targets, it is necessary to detect and treat more people with active TB early. Scale–up of active case finding (ACF) may be one strategy to achieve that goal. Given human resource constraints in the health systems of most high TB burden countries, volunteer community health workers (CHW) have been widely used to economically scale up TB ACF. However, more evidence is needed on the most cost-effective compensation models for these CHWs and their potential impact on case finding to inform optimal scale-up policies. Methods: We conducted a two-year, controlled intervention study in 12 districts of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. We engaged CHWs as salaried employees (3 districts) or incentivized volunteers (3 districts) to conduct ACF among contacts of people with TB and urban priority groups. Eligible persons were asked to attend health services for radiographic screening and rapid molecular diagnosis or smear microscopy. Individuals diagnosed with TB were linked to appropriate care. Six districts providing routine NTP care served as control area. We evaluated additional cases notified and conducted comparative interrupted time series (ITS) analyses to assess the impact of ACF by human resource model on TB case notifications. Results: We verbally screened 321,020 persons in the community, of whom 70,439 were eligible for testing and 1138 of them started TB treatment. ACF activities resulted in a + 15.9% [95% CI: + 15.0%, + 16.7%] rise in All Forms TB notifications in the intervention areas compared to control areas. The ITS analyses detected significant positive post-intervention trend differences in All Forms TB notification rates between the intervention and control areas (p = 0.001), as well as between the employee and volunteer human resource models (p = 0.021). Conclusions: Both salaried and volunteer CHW human resource models demonstrated additionality in case notifications compared to routine case finding by the government TB program. The salaried employee CHW model achieved a greater impact on notifications and should be prioritized for scale-up, given sufficient resources

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.

BACKGROUND Vietnam has a high burden of undetected tuberculosis (TB). The Vietnamese National TB Strategic Plan highlights active case-finding (ACF) as one strategy to find people with TB who are currently unreached by the existing government health services. The IMPACT TB (Implementing proven community-based active TB case-finding intervention) project was implemented across six districts of Ho Chi Minh City, 2017-2019. We aimed to explore the facilitators and barriers for ACF implementation during the IMPACT TB project to understand how and why the intervention achieved high yields. METHODS This was an exploratory qualitative study based on 39 semi-structured key-informant interviews with TB patients who were diagnosed through ACF, employees and volunteers who implemented ACF, and leaders from district, national, or international institutions and organizations in Vietnam. Thematic analysis was applied, using an implementation science framework by Grol and Wensing. RESULTS We generated three main themes: (1) the studied ACF model used in Vietnam provided a conducive social and organizational context for ACF implementation with areas for improvement, including communication and awareness-raising, preparation and logistics, data systems and processes, and incentives; (2) employees and volunteers capitalized on their strengths to facilitate ACF implementation, e.g., experience, skills, and communication; and (3) employees and volunteers were in a position to address patient-level barriers to ACF implementation, e.g., stigma, discrimination, and mistrust. These themes covered a variety of facilitators and barriers, which we divided into 17 categories. All categories were mentioned by employees and volunteers, except the category of having a network that facilitates ACF implementation, which was only mentioned by volunteers. This study also highlighted examples and ideas of how to address facilitators and barriers. CONCLUSIONS IMPACT TB provided a favorable social and organizational context for ACF implementation. Individual employees and volunteers still determined the success of the project, as they had to be able to capitalize on their own strengths and address patient-level barriers. Volunteers especially used their networks to facilitate ACF. Knowledge of both facilitators and barriers, and how to address them can inform the planning and implementation ACF in Vietnam and similar contexts across low- and middle-income countries worldwide

Evaluating the yield of systematic screening for tuberculosis among three priority groups in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

BACKGROUND In order to end tuberculosis (TB), it is necessary to expand coverage of TB care services, including systematic screening initiatives. However, more evidence is needed for groups among whom systematic screening is only conditionally recommended by the World Health Organization. This study evaluated concurrent screening in multiple target groups using community health workers (CHW). METHODS In our two-year intervention study lasting from October 2017 to September 2019, CHWs in six districts of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam verbally screened three urban priority groups: (1) household TB contacts; (2) close TB contacts; and (3) residents of urban priority areas without clear documented exposure to TB including hotspots, boarding homes and urban slums. Eligible persons were referred for further screening with chest radiography and follow-on testing with the Xpert MTB/RIF assay. Symptomatic individuals with normal or without radiography results were tested on smear microscopy. We described the TB care cascade and characteristics for each priority group, and calculated yield and number needed to screen. Subsequently, we fitted a mixed-effect logistic regression to identify the association of these target groups and secondary patient covariates with TB treatment initiation. RESULTS We verbally screened 321 020 people including 24 232 household contacts, 3182 social and close contacts and 293 606 residents of urban priority areas. This resulted in 1138 persons treated for TB, of whom 85 were household contacts, 39 were close contacts and 1014 belonged to urban priority area residents. The yield of active TB in these groups was 351, 1226 and 345 per 100 000, respectively, corresponding to numbers needed to screen of 285, 82 and 290. The fitted model showed that close contacts [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.38-3.11; P < 0.001] and urban priority area residents (aOR = 2.18; 95% CI: 1.69-2.79; P < 0.001) had a greater risk of active TB than household contacts. CONCLUSIONS The study detected a large number of unreached persons with TB, but most of them were not among persons in contact with an index patient. Therefore, while programs should continue to optimize screening in contacts, to close the detection gap in high TB burden settings such as Viet Nam, coverage must be expanded to persons without documented exposure such as residents in hotspots, boarding homes and urban slums

Socio-protective effects of active case finding on catastrophic costs from tuberculosis in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam : a longitudinal patient cost survey

BACKGROUND Many tuberculosis (TB) patients incur catastrophic costs. Active case finding (ACF) may have socio-protective properties that could contribute to the WHO End TB Strategy target of zero TB-affected families suffering catastrophic costs, but available evidence remains limited. This study measured catastrophic cost incurrence and socioeconomic impact of an episode of TB and compared those socioeconomic burdens in patients detected by ACF versus passive case finding (PCF). METHODS This cross-sectional study fielded a longitudinal adaptation of the WHO TB patient cost survey alongside an ACF intervention from March 2018 to March 2019. The study was conducted in six intervention (ACF) districts and six comparison (PCF) districts of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Fifty-two TB patients detected through ACF and 46 TB patients in the PCF cohort were surveyed within two weeks of treatment initiation, at the end of the intensive phase of treatment, and after treatment concluded. The survey measured income, direct and indirect costs, and socioeconomic impact based on which we calculated catastrophic cost as the primary outcome. Local currency was converted into US$using the average exchange rates reported by OANDA for the study period (VNĐ1 = US$0.0000436, 2018-2019). We fitted logistic regressions for comparisons between the ACF and PCF cohorts as the primary exposures and used generalized estimating equations to adjust for autocorrelation. RESULTS ACF patients were poorer than PCF patients (multidimensional poverty ratio: 16 % vs. 7 %; p = 0.033), but incurred lower median pre-treatment costs (US$18 vs. US$80; p < 0.001) and lower median total costs (US$279 vs. US$894; p < 0.001). Fewer ACF patients incurred catastrophic costs (15 % vs. 30 %) and had lower odds of catastrophic cost (aOR = 0.17; 95 % CI: [0.05, 0.67]; p = 0.011), especially during the intensive phase (OR = 0.32; 95 % CI: [0.12, 0.90]; p = 0.030). ACF patient experienced less social exclusion (OR = 0.41; 95 % CI: [0.18, 0.91]; p = 0.030), but more often resorted to financial coping mechanisms (OR = 5.12; 95 % CI: [1.73, 15.14]; p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS ACF can be effective in reaching vulnerable populations and mitigating the socioeconomic burden of TB, and can contribute to achieving the WHO End TB Strategy goals. Nevertheless, as TB remains a catastrophic life event, social protection efforts must extend beyond ACF

Enhanced Private Sector Engagement for Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Reporting through an Intermediary Agency in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Under-detection and -reporting in the private sector constitute a major barrier in Viet Nam’s fight to end tuberculosis (TB). Effective private-sector engagement requires innovative approaches. We established an intermediary agency that incentivized private providers in two districts of Ho Chi Minh City to refer persons with presumptive TB and share data of unreported TB treatment from July 2017 to March 2019. We subsidized chest x-ray screening and Xpert MTB/RIF testing, and supported test logistics, recording, and reporting. Among 393 participating private providers, 32.1% (126/393) referred at least one symptomatic person, and 3.6% (14/393) reported TB patients treated in their practice. In total, the study identified 1203 people with TB through private provider engagement. Of these, 7.6% (91/1203) were referred for treatment in government facilities. The referrals led to a post-intervention increase of +8.5% in All Forms TB notifications in the intervention districts. The remaining 92.4% (1112/1203) of identified people with TB elected private-sector treatment and were not notified to the NTP. Had this private TB treatment been included in official notifications, the increase in All Forms TB notifications would have been +68.3%. Our evaluation showed that an intermediary agency model can potentially engage private providers in Viet Nam to notify many people with TB who are not being captured by the current system. This could have a substantial impact on transparency into disease burden and contribute significantly to the progress towards ending TB

Determinants of catastrophic costs among households affected by multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam: a prospective cohort study

Background: Globally, most people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and their households experience catastrophic costs of illness, diagnosis, and care. However, the factors associated with experiencing catastrophic costs are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with catastrophic costs incurrence among MDR-TB-affected households in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Viet Nam. Methods: Between October 2020 and April 2022, data were collected using a locally-adapted, longitudinal WHO TB Patient Cost Survey in ten districts of HCMC. Ninety-four people with MDR-TB being treated with a nine-month TB regimen were surveyed at three time points: after two weeks of treatment initiation, completion of the intensive phase and the end of the treatment (approximately five and 10 months post-treatment initiation respectively). The catastrophic costs threshold was defined as total TB-related costs exceeding 20% of annual pre-TB household income. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with experiencing catastrophic costs. A sensitivity analysis examined the prevalence of catastrophic costs using alternative thresholds and cost estimation approaches. Results: Most participants (81/93 [87%]) experienced catastrophic costs despite the majority 86/93 (93%) receiving economic support through existing social protection schemes. Among participant households experiencing and not experiencing catastrophic costs, median household income was similar before MDR-TB treatment. However, by the end of MDR-TB treatment, median household income was lower (258 [IQR: 0–516] USD vs. 656 [IQR: 462–989] USD; p = 0.003), and median income loss was higher (2838 [IQR: 1548–5418] USD vs. 301 [IQR: 0–824] USD; p < 0.001) amongst the participant households who experienced catastrophic costs. Being the household’s primary income earner before MDR-TB treatment (aOR = 11.2 [95% CI: 1.6–80.5]), having a lower educational level (aOR = 22.3 [95% CI: 1.5–344.1]) and becoming unemployed at the beginning of MDR-TB treatment (aOR = 35.6 [95% CI: 2.7–470.3]) were associated with experiencing catastrophic costs. Conclusion: Despite good social protection coverage, most people with MDR-TB in HCMC experienced catastrophic costs. Incurrence of catastrophic costs was independently associated with being the household’s primary income earner or being unemployed. Revision and expansion of strategies to mitigate TB-related catastrophic costs, in particular avoiding unemployment and income loss, are urgently required

An Evaluation of Programmatic Community-Based Chest X-ray Screening for Tuberculosis in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Across Asia, a large proportion of people with tuberculosis (TB) do not report symptoms, have mild symptoms or only experience symptoms for a short duration. These individuals may not seek care at health facilities or may be missed by symptom screening, resulting in sustained TB transmission in the community. We evaluated the yields of TB from 114 days of community-based, mobile chest X-ray (CXR) screening. The yields at each step of the TB screening cascade were tabulated and we compared cohorts of participants who reported having a prolonged cough and those reporting no cough or one of short duration. We estimated the marginal yields of TB using different diagnostic algorithms and calculated the relative diagnostic costs and cost per case for each algorithm. A total of 34,529 participants were screened by CXR, detecting 256 people with Xpert-positive TB. Only 50% of those diagnosed with TB were detected among participants reporting a prolonged cough. The study's screening algorithm detected almost 4 times as much TB as the National TB Program's standard diagnostic algorithm. Community-based, mobile chest X-ray screening can be a high yielding strategy which is able to identify people with TB who would likely otherwise have been missed by existing health services

Optimising diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis infection in community and primary care settings in two urban provinces of Viet Nam: a cohort study

Objectives: To end tuberculosis (TB), the vast reservoir of 1.7–2.3 billion TB infections (TBIs) must be addressed, but achieving global TB preventive therapy (TPT) targets seems unlikely. This study assessed the feasibility of using interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) at lower healthcare levels and the comparative performance of 3-month and 9-month daily TPT regimens (3HR/9H). Design, setting, participants and intervention: This cohort study was implemented in two provinces of Viet Nam from May 2019 to September 2020. Participants included household contacts (HHCs), vulnerable community members and healthcare workers (HCWs) recruited at community-based TB screening events or HHC investigations at primary care centres, who were followed up throughout TPT. Primary and secondary outcomes: We constructed TBI care cascades describing indeterminate and positivity rates to assess feasibility, and initiation and completion rates to assess performance. We fitted mixed-effects logistic and stratified Cox models to identify factors associated with IGRA positivity and loss to follow-up (LTFU). Results: Among 5837 participants, the indeterminate rate was 0.8%, and 30.7% were IGRA positive. TPT initiation and completion rates were 63.3% (3HR=61.2% vs 9H=63.6%; p=0.147) and 80.6% (3HR=85.7% vs 9H=80.0%; p=0.522), respectively. Being male (adjusted OR=1.51; 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.78; p<0.001), aged 45–59 years (1.30; 1.05 to 1.60; p=0.018) and exhibiting TB-related abnormalities on X-ray (2.23; 1.38 to 3.61; p=0.001) were associated with positive IGRA results. Risk of IGRA positivity was lower in periurban districts (0.55; 0.36 to 0.85; p=0.007), aged <15 years (0.18; 0.13 to 0.26; p<0.001), aged 15–29 years (0.56; 0.42 to 0.75; p<0.001) and HCWs (0.34; 0.24 to 0.48; p<0.001). The 3HR regimen (adjusted HR=3.83; 1.49 to 9.84; p=0.005) and HCWs (1.38; 1.25 to 1.53; p<0.001) showed higher hazards of LTFU. Conclusion: Providing IGRAs at lower healthcare levels is feasible and along with shorter regimens may expand access and uptake towards meeting TPT targets, but scale-up may require complementary advocacy and education for beneficiaries and providers

Optimizing community screening for tuberculosis: Spatial analysis of localized case finding from door-to-door screening for TB in an urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

BACKGROUND:Tuberculosis (TB) is the deadliest infectious disease globally. Current case finding approaches may miss many people with TB or detect them too late. DATA AND METHODS:This study was a retrospective, spatial analysis of routine TB surveillance and cadastral data in Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City. We geocoded TB notifications from 2011 to 2015 and calculated theoretical yields of simulated door-to-door screening in three concentric catchment areas (50m, 100m, 200m) and three notification window scenarios (one, two and four quarters) for each index case. We calculated average yields, compared them to published reference values and fit a GEE (Generalized Estimating Equation) linear regression model onto the data. RESULTS:The sample included 3,046 TB patients. Adjusted theoretical yields in 50m, 100m and 200m catchment areas were 0.32% (95%CI: 0.27,0.37), 0.21% (95%CI: 0.14,0.29) and 0.17% (95%CI: 0.09,0.25), respectively, in the baseline notification window scenario. Theoretical yields in the 50m-catchment area for all notification window scenarios were significantly higher than a reference yield from literature. Yield was positively associated with treatment failure index cases (beta = 0.12, p = 0.001) and short-term inter-province migrants (beta = 0.06, p = 0.022), while greater distance to the DTU (beta = -0.02, p<0.001) was associated with lower yield. CONCLUSIONS:This study is an example of inter-departmental collaboration and application of repurposed cadastral data to progress towards the end TB objectives. The results from Go Vap showed that the use of spatial analysis may be able to identify areas where targeted active case finding in Vietnam can help improve TB case detection