A survey of tuberculosis infection control practices at the NIH/NIAID/DAIDS-supported clinical trial sites in low and middle income countries

BACKGROUND: Health care associated transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) is well described. A previous survey of infection control (IC) practices at clinical research sites in low and middle income countries (LMIC) funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) conducting HIV research identified issues with respiratory IC practices. A guideline for TB IC based on international recommendations was developed and promulgated. This paper reports on adherence to the guideline at sites conducting or planning to conduct TB studies with the intention of supporting improvement. METHODS: A survey was developed that assessed IC activities in three domains: facility level measures, administrative control measures and environmental measures. An external site monitor visited each site in 2013–2014, to complete the audit. A central review committee evaluated the site-level survey and results were tabulated. Fisher’s exact test was performed to determine whether there were significant differences in practices at sites that had IC officers versus sites that did not have IC officers. Significance was assessed at p</=.05 RESULTS: Seven of thirty-three sites surveyed (22 %) had all the evaluated tuberculosis IC (TB IC) elements in place. Sixty-one percent of sites had an IC officer tasked with developing and maintaining TB IC standard operating procedures. Twenty-two (71 %) sites promptly identified and segregated individuals with TB symptoms. Thirty (93 %) sites had a separate waiting area for patients, and 26 (81 %) collected sputum within a specific well-ventilated area that was separate from the general waiting area. Sites with an IC officer were more likely to have standard operating procedures covering TB IC practices (p = 0.02) and monitor those policies (p = 0.02) and perform regular surveillance of healthcare workers (p = 0.02). The presence of an IC officer had a positive impact on performance in most of the TB IC domains surveyed including having adequate ventilation (p = 0.02) and a separate area for sputum collection (p = 0.02) CONCLUSIONS: Specific and targeted support of TB IC activities in the clinical research environment is needed and is likely to have a positive and sustained impact on preventing the transmission of TB to both health care workers and vulnerable HIV-infected research participants. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-016-1579-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Clients' perception of quality of family planning services in urban and rural health facilities in Lagos State

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Psychological Distress and Psychiatric Symptoms among Patients Receiving Treatment for Tuberculosis in a Teaching Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

The association between tuberculosis and psychopathology had been variously reported. Despite the observed high global prevalence of tuberculosis, there are very few studies on its psychiatric complications in Nigeria. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and psychiatric symptoms among tuberculosis patients in a teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. Method: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. It was carried out among patients attending the chest clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. One hundred and nine consecutive patients attending the clinic were administered with the General Health Questionnaire 12th version and the Symptoms Check List (SCL-90). Results: A large number of the respondents (40.7%) were between the ages 21 and 30 years old. About half of the participants suffered from somatisation, neuroticism, depression and anxiety and as regards GHQ scores, more than half (51.9%) indicated psychological distress. Likewise, the mean scores on the SCL did not differ significantly by age group of participants. There was no correlation observed between GHQ-12 score and duration of illness. Conclusion: Clinicians managing patients with tuberculosis need to be aware of symptoms of psychopathology among their patients which informs the need to screen them for psycho-pathology at the commencement of anti-tuberculosis therapy. It was however suggested that psycho-education and psychotherapy should also be carried out by clinicians managing tuberculosis patients as part of their holistic management.Journal of Community Medicine &amp; Primary Health vol 23 (1-2) 2011 , MAR/SEPT. 201

Awareness on HIV/AIDS amongst residents of two Local Government Areas in Lagos State

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