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Puchalski Ritchie LM, van Lettow M, Makwakwa A, Kip EC, Straus SE, Kawonga H, Hamid JS, Lebovic G, Thorpe KE, Zwarenstein M, Schull MJ, Chan AK, Martiniuk A, van Schoor V. Impact of a tuberculosis treatment adherence intervention versus usual care on treatment completion rates: results of a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. Implement Sci 2020; 15:107. [PMID: 33308257 PMCID: PMC7731739 DOI: 10.1186/s13012-020-01067-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With the global shortage of skilled health workers estimated at 7.2 million, outpatient tuberculosis (TB) care is commonly task-shifted to lay health workers (LHWs) in many low- and middle-income countries where the shortages are greatest. While shown to improve access to care and some health outcomes including TB treatment outcomes, lack of training and supervision limit the effectiveness of LHW programs. Our objective was to refine and evaluate an intervention designed to address common causes of non-adherence to TB treatment and LHW knowledge and skills training needs. METHODS We employed a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. Participants included 103 health centres (HCs) providing TB care in four districts in Malawi, randomized 1:1 stratified by district and HC funding (Ministry of Health, non-Ministry funded). At intervention HCs, a TB treatment adherence intervention was implemented using educational outreach, a point-of-care reminder tool, and a peer support network. Clusters in the control arm provided usual care. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with successful TB treatment (i.e., cure or treatment completion). We used a generalized linear mixed model, with district as a fixed effect and HC as a random effect, to compare proportions of patients with treatment success, among the trial arms, with adjustment for baseline differences. RESULTS We randomized 51 HCs to the intervention group and 52 HCs to the control group. Four intervention and six control HCs accrued no eligible patients, and 371 of 1169 patients had missing outcome, HC, or demographic data, which left 74 HCs and 798 patients for analysis. Randomization group was not related to missing outcome, however, district, age, and TB type were significantly related and included in the primary analysis model. Among the 1153 patients with HC and demographic data, 297/605 (49%) and 348/548 (64%) in the intervention and control arms, respectively, had treatment success. The intervention had no significant effect on treatment success (adjusted odds ratio 1.35 [95% confidence interval 0.93-1.98]). CONCLUSION We found no significant effect of the intervention on TB treatment outcomes with high variability in implementation quality, highlighting important challenges to both scale-up and sustainability. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02533089 . Registered August 20, 2015.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M. Puchalski Ritchie
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, 6 Queen’s Park Crescent West, Third Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2 Canada
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michaels Hospital, St. Michael’s Hospital, 30 Bond St, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8 Canada
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University Health Network, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street, RFE G-480, Toronto, M5G 2C4 Canada
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, M5T 3M7 Canada
| | - Monique van Lettow
- Dignitas International, Zomba, Malawi
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, M5T 3M7 Canada
| | | | | | - Sharon E. Straus
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, 6 Queen’s Park Crescent West, Third Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2 Canada
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michaels Hospital, St. Michael’s Hospital, 30 Bond St, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8 Canada
| | | | - Jemila S. Hamid
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Room 101, 600 Peter Morand Crescent, Ottawa, ON I1G 5Z3 Canada
| | - Gerald Lebovic
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michaels Hospital, St. Michael’s Hospital, 30 Bond St, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8 Canada
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, M5T 3M7 Canada
| | - Kevin E. Thorpe
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, M5T 3M7 Canada
- Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, 30 Bond St, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8 Canada
| | - Merrick Zwarenstein
- Department of Family Medicine, Western University, London, ON Canada
- Department of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON N6A 5C1 Canada
| | - Michael J. Schull
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, 6 Queen’s Park Crescent West, Third Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2 Canada
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, c/o H2-66, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5 Canada
- Dignitas International Toronto, C/O ICES attention Michael Schull, 2075 Bayview Avenue, G106, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5 Canada
| | - Adrienne K. Chan
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, 6 Queen’s Park Crescent West, Third Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2 Canada
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, M5T 3M7 Canada
- Dignitas International, Zomba, Malawi
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, M5T 3M7 Canada
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, c/o H2-66, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5 Canada
| | - Alexandra Martiniuk
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, M5T 3M7 Canada
- George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia
- The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, Sydney, NSW Australia
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