Viljoen L, Hendricks P, Hoddinott G, Vanqa N, Osman M, Hesseling A C, Meehan S-A
Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
School of Human Sciences, Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, Greenwich, UK.
Public Health Action. 2022 Sep 21;12(3):121-127. doi: 10.5588/pha.22.0012.
In South Africa, failure to link individuals diagnosed with TB to care remains an important gap in the TB care cascade. Compared to people diagnosed at primary healthcare (PHC) facilities, people diagnosed in hospitals are more likely to require additional support to be linked with PHC TB treatment services. We describe a patient interaction process to support linkage to TB care.
We implemented a step-by-step early patient interaction process with 84 adults newly diagnosed with TB in one district hospital in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa (August 2020-March 2021). We confirmed patient contact details, provided TB and health information, shared information on accessing care at PHC facilities and answered patients' questions in their home language.
Most patients (54/84, 64%) provided updated telephone numbers, and 19/84 (23%) reported changes in their physical address. Patients welcomed practical and health information in their home language. The majority (74/84, 88%) were linked to care after hospital discharge.
A simple early patient interaction process implemented as part of routine care is a feasible strategy to facilitate early TB treatment initiation and registration.
在南非，未能将确诊结核病的患者与治疗服务相衔接仍是结核病防治流程中的一个重要缺口。与在初级卫生保健（PHC）机构确诊的患者相比，在医院确诊的患者更有可能需要额外支持才能与PHC结核病治疗服务相衔接。我们描述了一个支持结核病治疗衔接的患者互动流程。
我们在南非开普敦Khayelitsha的一家区级医院，对84名新确诊结核病的成年人实施了一个逐步的早期患者互动流程（2020年8月至2021年3月）。我们确认了患者的联系方式，提供了结核病及健康信息，分享了在PHC机构获得治疗的信息，并使用患者的母语回答他们的问题。
大多数患者（54/84，64%）提供了更新后的电话号码，19/84（23%）报告了其实际住址的变化。患者欢迎以其母语提供的实用和健康信息。大多数患者（74/84，88%）在出院后与治疗服务相衔接。
作为常规护理一部分实施的简单早期患者互动流程，是促进早期结核病治疗启动和登记的可行策略。
