Effectiveness and Acceptability of Video-Observed Therapy for Tuberculosis Treatment Monitoring: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) control programs confront a significant challenge in ensuring patients fully adhere to their treatment regimens. Video-observed therapy (VOT) is an alternative digital technology for monitoring tuberculosis treatment that may potentially improve adherence and clinical outcomes. However, there is limited evidence supporting the effectiveness and acceptability of VOT. This scoping review aimed to summarize the characteristics of existing evidence-based VOT for tuberculosis treatment monitoring and to describe the evidence for their effectiveness and acceptability.

METHODS

This review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping review protocol in Jan 2023. Three databases, namely PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS, were used in this review.

RESULTS

The search identified 170 articles, and after the identification and screening process, 22 articles were included in this review. The findings were categorized into effectiveness and acceptability.

CONCLUSION

There is a progressively growing body of evidence, particularly in treating and monitoring TB using VOT, which has a positive impact on improving effectiveness regarding health outcomes and is widely accepted to implement. Future studies, such as non-inferiority trials and cost-effectiveness evaluations, will help improve tuberculosis strategies and management.