TITLE:
DOST Model’ for DR-TB Patients, New Delhi: Perspectives of Healthcare Providers
AUTHORS:
Vindhya Vatsyayan, Theresa Pattery, Khasim Sayyad, Jason Williams, Arnab Pal, Vikas Panibatla, Ashwani Khanna
KEYWORDS:
DOST, Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients, India, Health Care Providers
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Tuberculosis Research,
Vol.10 No.4,
December
2,
2022
ABSTRACT: Introduction: In India, tuberculosis continues to be a major
public health problem and there is a growing concern about drug-resistant tuberculosis as most of the patients
are from private sector. The National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) in
collaboration with TB Alert, India (TBAI) and Clinton Health Association of
India (CHAI) had implemented a collaborative project to strengthen the network
between the private practitioners and public healthcare facilities in New Delhi
during 2019 and 2020. Methods: A study was conducted to understand the
enablers and challenges encountered by them during the implementation of the
project. This is a qualitative exploration of the “healthcare providers” on a
project linking DR-TB patients in private sector with government health facilities.
The process of data collection involved face-to-face in-depth interviews of healthcare providers, the Doctors mainly from private and public health
facilities, the paramedical workers from general health system and paramedical
from the project using an interview guide administered through a trained
researcher. Results: The study findings revealed that all healthcare
providers were completely aware of the DOST project in the health system, the
model led to early diagnosis and initiation of quality treatment. There were no
major challenges to the implementation of the project. The healthcare
providers wish to have this project implemented for a longer duration. Conclusion: The perspectives of healthcare providers
towards the “DOST” project were optimistic and call for
re-initiating the project in the area.