REACH demonstrates model for care, support of migrant persons with TB

In a pilot intervention in four districts of Tamil Nadu — Chennai, Coimbatore, Kancheepuram, and Vellore — a total of 11,564 people with TB were screened, of whom 36.6% were identified as migrant persons. A comprehensive and customised package of care and support services were provided for them through this project

REACH, a not-for-profit organisation working in the field of tuberculosis (TB), has demonstrated a model to provide person-centred care to migrant people with tuberculosis (MPwTB).

In a pilot intervention in four districts of Tamil Nadu — Chennai, Coimbatore, Kancheepuram, and Vellore — a total of 11,564 people with TB were screened, of whom 36.6% were identified as migrant persons. A comprehensive and customised package of care and support services were provided for the MPwTB through this project.

At a State-level dissemination meeting held on Tuesday, REACH put forward the key findings of the project and launched the ‘ARISE’ project, under which community-based outreach, screening, and sensitisation of TB, diabetes, and hypertension and their risk factors, such as malnutrition, will be taken up in Minjur, Manali, and other adjoining areas of north Chennai.

Elaborating on a pan-India rapid assessment of TB in the migrant population, Ramya Ananthakrishnan, REACH’s director, said the challenges included delayed diagnosis, out-of-pocket expenses, stigma, mental health challenges, and treatment adherence. “It is important to understand that migrants are not a homogenous group,” she added. Based on the assessment, recommendations, including building a system for accurate estimation of TB burden among migrants, implementing a strategic communication campaign, building capacity among service providers, and developing operational guidelines, were put forth. This was relevant in the light of International Migrants Day, observed on December 18, Dr. Ramya said.

As part of the ‘Peer-led, Personalised and Person-centred Support Model for Migrants with TB’, migrant-friendly services were delivered by a trained cadre of community health workers (CHW) in the four districts. They were trained in the basics of TB, services available for TB diagnosis and treatment as per the National TB Elimination Programme, and support services for MPwTB and follow-up activities. On a follow-up of 622 persons, they found the success rate of the treatment to be 91%. One of the key learnings of the project was that TB services in a person’s language of choice is essential, and this may call for the placement of multilingual health workers in facilities frequented by migrants.

Speaking on the occasion, T.S. Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said they had launched a 100-day intensive campaign on TB in the State. “We have identified a vulnerable population of 2 crore in Tamil Nadu,” he said. He added that uncontrolled diabetes was a risk for TB and malnutrition was also a challenge. M. Jagadeesan, City Health Officer, Greater Chennai Corporation, said ‘ARISE’ project would help enable people to know if they were at risk of TB.

REACH also launched the Wave 11-SCORE TB Programme for integrated screening of TB and chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Dindigul and Theni in Tamil Nadu and Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga in Bihar.

Nalini Krishnan, founder and executive secretary, REACH, and Cyprian Paulraj, general manager, AM Foundation, were present.

Published - December 17, 2024 09:24 pm IST