Prathiksha Giridharan, Havenesh Murugesan, Sriram Selvaraju, Asha Frederick, T S Selvavinayagam, Karikalan Nagarajan, Kannan Thiruvengadam, Rajendran Krishnan, Priya Rajendran, Paul Kumaran, Makesh Kumar, Padmapriyadarsini Chandrasekeran
Estimating the burden of TB at the subnational level is critical to planning and prioritizing resources for TB control activities according to the local epidemiological situation. We report the experiences and operational challenges of implementing a TB prevalence survey at the subnational level in India. Information was collected from research reports that gathered data from periodic meetings, informal discussions with study teams, letters of communication, and various site visit reports. During the implementation of the survey, several challenges were encountered, including frequent turnover in human resources, lack of survey participation and community engagement, breakdown of X-ray machines, laboratory issues that delayed sputum sample testing, delays in X-ray reading, and network and Internet connectivity issues that impeded data management...
January 25, 2024: Global Health, Science and Practice