A situation assessment tool to engage all relevant care providers in drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) management at country level

Overview

A national situational assessment is very important for the planning and the implementation of PPM DR-TB activities in the respective country. A careful country-specific analysis about the current status of management of DR-TB patients, with a focus on all the various health care providers, will show the way forward towards achieving the goal of universal access to quality diagnosis and treatment for all cases of tuberculosis, including those with DR−TB. A country assessment tool has been designed and field tested in 4 countries.

This tool enables a country or other users to gather the needed data that will serve as a basis for designing a sound plan of expanding DR-TB management, by engaging all relevant care providers. The objective of the assessment tool is to assist countries in moving towards engagement of all relevant health care providers in DR-TB management. The main objective of this tool is to facilitate a comprehensive assessment of a country’s current situation in terms of PPM TB and drug-resistant TB care.