Putting TB notification into practice among private pharmacies in Mangalore city, India – Did we succeed?

Problem considered

Globally, tuberculosis (TB) is the second leading infectious killer after Covid-19 with 1.18–1.43 million deaths in 2022. As per the Global TB Report 2023, an estimated 10.6 million people developed TB in 2022. An estimated 3.1 million cases were missed globally, posing a challenge in breaking the chain of transmission. India is one of the major contributors to the missed cases. Almost 50 % of patients are being treated in the Private sector in India, but fewer are notified to the public health system. This study explored the role of sensitization of pharmacies in TB Case Notification in Mangalore city.

Methods

In this study using a before and after intervention design, the programmatic data was utilized to compare the TB case notifications by the private pharmacies using TB reporting formats for mandatory notification. The intervention was sensitization of the pharmacy owners and pharmacists by a trained field assistant and monthly reminder messages using a social media tool. The data was collected for 2 consecutive quarters October 2019–March 2020 in the prescribed formats.

Results

Post Intervention, there was an increase in the number of pharmacies reporting TB cases from 6 to 14, and prescriptions were being maintained and shared with the District TB Office. An increased number of case reporting was also observed post-intervention.

Conclusion

Intensified sensitization led to improvement in the reporting mechanism of TB case notification by private pharmacies, though it did not translate into a concurrent rise in notification of TB cases in the district.