Progress towards eliminating tuberculosis in Ga West Municipality, Ghana: analysis of tuberculosis surveillance data, 2017.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the progress made towards the actualization of the 80% reduction in incident cases, monitor trends and to assess the quality of GWM TB surveillance data from 2012 to 2016.

DESIGN

The study was descriptive secondary data analysis.

DATA SOURCE

Tuberculosis cases recorded in the District Health Information Management Systems (DHIMS) and municipal TB registers. The Municipal TB Coordinator was interviewed for clarification on the data. A TB patient was defined as one who coughed persistently for two weeks or more.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Trend of TB cases in Ga West Municipality.

RESULTS

A total of 441 TB cases were registered of which 68.9% were smear positive. Males were (67%). Age group 35-44 years were the most affected (28.6%). The incidence rose from 21.5 (2012) to 41.6 (2015). The 2016 incidence was 40.7 (± 5.63) per 100,000 population. This is significantly different from the current national incidence of 156 (p < 0.05). Data was 95% complete. Discrepancies existed between data in registers compared to the DHIMS but were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

The 80% reduction in incident cases target may not be attained by the GWM due to the rising number of incident cases. However, data quality is good.

FUNDING

The study was funded by the authors.