key: cord-0739505-oq0pjh1m
authors: Chapman, Helena J.; Veras-Estévez, Bienvenido A.
title: Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Pandemic to Strengthen TB Infection Control: A Rapid Review
date: 2021-12-31
journal: Glob Health Sci Pract
DOI: 10.9745/ghsp-d-21-00368
sha: 6c5b4752c32e670a94b9421a739fa30b97848512
doc_id: 739505
cord_uid: oq0pjh1m

INTRODUCTION: Over the past 5 years, substantial global investment has resulted in reduced TB incidence rates by 9% and mortality rates by 14%. However, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has hindered access and availability of TB services to maintain robust TB control. The objective of this rapid review was to describe the challenges to be addressed and recommendations to strengthen health system preparedness for optimal TB control across low- and middle-income countries during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Five databases were used to systematically search for relevant articles published in 2020. The 5-step framework proposed by Arskey and O'Malley and adapted by Levac et al. guided the review process. Thematic analysis with grounded theory principles was used to summarize themes from selected articles and integrate analyses with barriers reported from authors' previous TB research. RESULTS: Of the 218 peer-reviewed articles, 20 articles met the inclusion criteria. Four emerging themes described challenges: (1) unprepared health system leadership and infrastructure, (2) coexisting health priorities, (3) insufficient health care workforce support for continued training and appropriate workplace environments, and (4) weak connections to primary health centers hindering community engagement. Four recommendations were highlighted: (1) ensuring leadership and governance for sustainable national health budgets, (2) building networks of community stakeholders, (3) supporting health care workforce training and safe workplace environments, and (4) using digital health interventions for TB care. CONCLUSIONS: National health systems must promote patient-centered TB care, implement ethical community interventions, support operational research, and integrate appropriate eHealth applications. TB program managers and primary care practitioners can serve as instrumental leaders and patient advocates to deliver high-quality and sustainable TB care that leads to achieving the targets of the End TB Strategy.

O f respiratory infections, TB is the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, causing 10 million new TB cases and 1.4 million TB deaths in 2019. 1 TB is spread through aerosol droplets, including those smaller than 5 microns, infected with M. tuberculosis from an infected individual to a susceptible individual. Onethird of the global population, which is estimated to have an asymptomatic M. tuberculosis infection, has a 5%-10% risk of developing TB disease during their lifespan. 2 With substantial global investment and political commitment over the past 5 years, TB incidence and mortality rates have continued to decrease by 9% and 14%, respectively. 1 To minimize disease transmission, strict adherence to evidencebased infection control and prevention measures are recommended in clinical and community settings. 3 The End TB Strategy has set ambitious milestones for 2025 and targets to end TB by 2035. 4 Three pillars place precedence on expanding patient-centered TB prevention and control efforts, forming policies and multisector collaborations across communities and public and private sectors, and ensuring continued attention on scientific research innovations for TB care. 4 However, these robust efforts have been redirected to support the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response measures. Economic and human resources for health have been diverted to emergency care and contact tracing of COVID-19 patients, and laboratories have been repurposed for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. 5 As a result, health care services for infectious diseases and comorbidities of significant burden-like TB, HIV/AIDS, and malaria-diminished, 5 and citizens were fearful to seek TB diagnostic and treatment services. 6 During the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2015, similar observations were reported, such as reductions in TB, HIV, and malaria case notifications and treatment, reductions in health care utilization including vaccination coverage, and the breakdown of community cohesion due to fear, apprehension, and socioeconomic impacts. [7] [8] [9] Health systems should recognize the syndemic effects of TB and COVID-19 and analyze 3 factors for best clinical and community management practices of competing health priorities. First, the social determinants of health draw attention to the impact of social environments (e.g., education and income), physical environments (e.g., residence and transportation), and access and quality of health care services, including access to broadband internet. 10, 11 Second, the One Health concept promotes the development of multidisciplinary collaborations to advance clinical and research applications focusing on the human-animalenvironment nexus. 12, 13 Third, the "knowledgeaction" gap can result from limitations in the access of up-to-date scientific knowledge (e.g., health care professions curricula and continuing education), health system infrastructure (e.g., financial resources and surveillance programs), and social environments (e.g., access to health care services and influence of news sources). 14, 15 Hence, the primary health care workforce can contribute to public debates and community campaigns, develop patient education materials on pressing health issues, 16 and lead efforts to implement evidencebased findings that can optimize clinical, educational, and research practices related to TB care.

To date, numerous countries have reported reduced TB case notifications during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the importance of "The Clock is Ticking" theme for World TB Day 2021. 17, 18 Over the next 5 years, modeling estimates depict that countries with high TB burden will report up to 20% increased TB mortality or 1.4 million TB deaths, 17, 19 which will negatively impact the End TB Strategy timeline. 20 In this article, we summarize encountered challenges to be addressed and proposed recommendations from the literature that can strengthen TB prevention and control efforts during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, national health systems can integrate these recommendations into future practices and policies that strengthen health care service delivery, health care professions education, and research capacity related to TB care.

A rapid review was conducted to review the current literature, identify gaps, and synthesize findings, 21, 22 related to challenges and recommendations for TB prevention and control in low-and middle-income countries. We used the 5-step framework proposed by Levac et al., 23 which was adapted from Arksey and O'Malley, 24 in our search strategy: (1) identify the research question; (2) identify relevant studies; (3) select studies, (4) chart the data; and (5) collate, summarize, and report the results. 23, 24 The research questions were: (1) What are the existing challenges in TB prevention and control efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic? and (2) What are the proposed recommendations that can strengthen TB prevention and control efforts during and after the COVID-19 pandemic? This search was simultaneously integrated with findings reported from a previous qualitative study that examined challenges in TB prevention and control in a middle-income country, the Dominican Republic. [25] [26] [27] "coronavirus," "health systems," and "tuberculosis," to include original articles, reviews, commentaries, and letters, published between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. After removing duplicate articles, authors independently reviewed each abstract and included articles that described the impacts of TB control efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and proposed recommendations to strengthen health system efforts for TB control. If any disagreement occurred, authors discussed the abstract until consensus was finalized. Articles written in languages other than English were not excluded.

Articles were excluded if they did not include content related to TB and COVID-19, if clinical aspects of TB and COVID-19 management were described or if the focus deviated from the impact of COVID-19 on TB prevention and control efforts of the health system. Authors incorporated relevant citations from selected articles in the analysis. The article screening and selection process is shown in Figure 1 .

After full-text review, authors used the matrix method, with paper trail, documents, review matrix, and synthesis folders, to extract data from each article. 28 Data included the country or continent focus, study objective, and main summary points related to challenges to overcome and recommendations for TB prevention and control.

After compiling this information, authors used a qualitative thematic analysis applying grounded theory principles 29 to identify themes or patterns from selected articles and explore the connections between existing challenges and proposed recommendations to improve TB prevention and control. The 6-step approach of Braun and Clarke 30 guided the analysis, where authors expanded upon the final themes identified from previous TB research to examine health care workers' perceived barriers to adherence to TB prevention measures in the Dominican Republic. [25] [26] [27] Authors independently reviewed the initial codes and extracted information to support and expand their meaning. They jointly reviewed and agreed on all final codes, compiled them into relevant themes, and developed a conceptual model.

The search yielded 218 articles, and after 58 duplicate articles were removed, 160 titles and abstracts were reviewed by both authors. Of the 160 articles, 19 articles met the inclusion criteria, and 1 additional article was added from the manual reference search of these articles. Of the 20 included articles, articles described the TB burden in Africa (n=8), Asia (n=2), and the world (n=10). Article types included 4 letters, 9 perspectives, 5 reviews, and 2 original research articles. Emerging themes from selected articles were identified as existing challenges to be addressed and proposed recommendations to strengthen TB prevention and control efforts ( Figure 2 ). The characteristics of each article, including proposed recommendations to strengthen TB control efforts during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, are shown (Table 1 and Supplement).

Four emerging themes on existing challenges in TB prevention and control efforts are displayed ( Table 2 ).

1. An unprepared public health system leadership and infrastructure was described by limited short-term plans, inadequate funding for highburden diseases, and limited foresight to identify key factors that hinder TB control efforts.

2. Coexisting health priorities were exacerbated with disruptions in routine TB care, limited understanding of how natural emergencies impact established health programs, and lack of oversight on the importance of TB programs.

3. Insufficient health care workforce support for continued training and appropriate workplace environments was impacted by the demanding schedules of health care workers and the need for reassigned roles to meet national requests. 4 . Weak connections to primary health centers resulted in interrupted community-based programs that hindered patient-provider interactions on routine health care services and negatively impacted early diagnostics and adherence to management. Togun et al. 6 UK, Africa Noting differences between low-and high-income countries in TB priorities (active vs. latent TB), provision of health care services, and mechanisms for social protection, the global response should be comprehensive and long-term, increasing investments in research, innovative digital technology, and public health.

Hogan et al. 19 Global

The most significant impact to increased mortality was the interruption to antiretroviral therapy for HIV, reductions in timely diagnosis and treatment of new cases for TB, and the interruption of planned net campaigns for malaria.

Visca et al. 20 Global With expected increases in TB incidence and mortality, ensuring high levels of adherence to TB treatment through digital innovation can minimize the burden on patients and the health care workforce.

Adamu et al. 31 Africa COVID-19 response strategies should shift from isolated programs to integrated health system interventions that are connected with existing programs in public and private sectors.

Alene et al. 32 Global Health systems should aim to maintain routine TB services during the COVID-19 pandemic and hence mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on TB prevention and control programs.

Amimo et al. 33 Africa Appropriate economic and epidemiological considerations are required to minimize hardships faced by vulnerable populations to access essential health care services for COVID-19 and other epidemic diseases.

Federal support is required to improve economic and nutrition livelihood through cash transfers, public distribution system of food, and high-quality community TB surveillance and clinical management.

International cooperation and country-specific efforts that reflect local resources and needs are required to overcome significant public health risks by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dara et al. 36 Global Complementary COVID-19 and TB responses, including capacity building, active surveillance and monitoring systems, and sustainable economic investment, have the potential to curb disease transmission. People-centered care models, digital technologies, and community-based services can be adapted for the COVID-19 and TB epidemics.

Homolka et al. 37 Global TB diagnostic and research infrastructures can be leveraged for SARS-CoV-2 testing and sequencing to examine virus evolution and diversity. High-quality management principles for TB/SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing must be followed to ensure validity, reduce biosafety hazards, and support TB diagnostic services.

Jain et al. 38 India

Restructuring services-such as multimonth dispensing, video-supported therapy, and community-based services-can strengthen TB programs.

Loveday et al. 39 South Africa Integrating COVID-19 systems to support TB prevention and control can include developing a platform for public engagement on disease monitoring, strengthening contact tracing with GIS mapping, offering mobile-or video-supported counseling and clinical management, improving health information and surveillance systems, and increasing federal investment.

McQuaid et al. 40 Global To ensure continued access to person-centered TB care, sustainable funding, innovative digital technology, and robust community-based surveillance activities can be expanded to reduce the TB and COVID-19 burden.

Mohammed et al. 41 Ethiopia Continued investment in TB care and research activities is key to minimizing disruptions to health and research services.

Mukwenha et al. 42 Zimbabwe Through collaborations with local and international partners, Zimbabwe leaders can strengthen HIV/TB services by ensuring stockpile availability of diagnostic testing, disseminating accurate health information to TB patients, and adopting real-time surveillance systems.

Papadimos et al. 43 Global Deploying point-of-care diagnostics and focusing on telemedicine platforms (albeit challenges like suboptimal internet connectivity or insufficient encryption) have the potential to enhance screening efforts and prevent excess TB mortality.

Lessons Learned to Strengthen TB Infection Control www.ghspjournal.org

Global Health: Science and Practice 2021 | Volume 9 | Number 4

Emerging themes on proposed recommendations to strengthen TB prevention and control efforts are listed (Table 3) .

With the risk of national emergency scenarioswhether natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, or conflict-nations should implement policies and strategies and allocate funding that strengthens prevention and mitigation efforts for infectious and chronic diseases. 48, 52, 53 Political commitment is essential to support core health care services that sustain high-quality point-ofcare diagnostics and treatment plans for TB patients as well as balancing these needs with the coexisting pandemic. 19, 37, [41] [42] [43] These actions can focus on long-term and comprehensive care for TB and coexisting priorities like COVID-19. 6, 32, 36, 45 Following the World Health Organization's call that all nations should conduct and utilize research capacity, researchers can investigate key scientific questions raised during coinciding pandemics. 37, 41, 46 For example, operational research should be conducted to examine the influence of social determinants of health on TB and COVID-19, vaccine effectiveness and community acceptability, and adherence to recommended pharmaceutical regimens. 39, 40, 45, 50 These research findings can inform national health priorities, which can provide a framework for the appropriate allocation of economic resources. Supported by appropriate legislature, authorities can recommend actions for the health sector to best distribute resources for current health priorities and unanticipated emergency scenarios. 50

Forming a network of stakeholders-or community groups comprised of individuals who represent different disciplines but share common goals 51 -can help identify community needs and health system vulnerabilities related to TB prevention and control. As community stakeholders share approaches and lessons learned, a multisectoral response that aims to reduce TB burden can drive community engagement with families 6, 31, 43, 49 and support health care workers in facilitating educational activities as a platform to increase TB awareness and reduce stigma. 41, 45 By working with community stakeholders, health leaders can identify high-risk communities of poor health status, including inadequate nutrition, overcrowded living conditions, and unemployment, and advocate for creative solutions to improve public welfare programs. 34, 35, 38 These programs can drive national action to offer social protection for TB patients, such as cash transfers or food parcels, and essential psychosocial support. 45 Coupled with these health promotion activities, community-based research can highlight the use of key epidemiology tools and trends to better understand the transmission of emerging diseases like COVID-19 and emphasize the existing syndemic and closely linked influencing factors like poverty. 45 This insight can be applied to current and future plans of TB programs, especially for the diagnosis and management of active and reactivation TB cases. 32 Health authorities can also streamline public health efforts in COVID-19 and TB control by minimizing duplicated or non-essential approaches and guiding simultaneous surveillance services for rapid response. 37, 49 By identifying potential funding partners in the public and private sectors, additional financial resources and equipment can be distributed to health facilities. 31, 44 Supporting High-Quality Health care Workforce Training and Safe Workplace Environments A competent health care workforce must be prepared with appropriate knowledge and skills to simultaneously manage endemic and emerging health threats. Health care workers should receive adequate training, appropriate incentives to provide care, and mental health and psychosocial support. 36, 41 Continuing education programs can offer up-to-date information about clinical guidelines, best practices, public health principles, and timely health topics. 32 This information can offer insight on the influence of social determinants on TB and COVID-19 patients, especially the impact of comorbidities (e.g., diabetes mellitus), environmental contamination (e.g., air pollution), and economic hardships (e.g., poverty and overcrowded living conditions), and strategies to reduce stigma and discrimination. 6, 45 Community fora can offer public platforms to share and discuss evidence-based findings that can promote a call to action for policy changes. 49 These key contributions to health systems Public health leadership, health care workers, biomedical scientists, patients

Using innovative approaches to strengthen TB contact tracing and case notification:

If TB was integrated into the geospatial mapping system set up to inform the COVID-19 tracing efforts and tracking in real time, this could strengthen the tracing of contacts, recording and notification processes of both the TB and RR-TB programmes 39 Public health leadership, health care workers, geospatial experts, patients

Offering additional support for health care workers: COVID-19 is radically changing the way we manage TB in the immediate future and is forcing us to accelerate the adoption of digital innovations that simplify and facilitate the workload of healthcare workers 20

Public health leadership, health care workers, information technology

Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease; DOT, directly observed therapy; RR-TB, rifampicin-resistant TB.

Community fora can offer public platforms to share and discuss evidence-based findings that can promote a call to action for policy changes. will support the delivery of holistic, patient-centered care services for TB patients. Health care workers should receive additional skills-based training in field epidemiology with case studies for outbreak investigations and operational research for TB prevention and control. This training can offer skills in identifying priority health issues, literature reviews, connecting with community stakeholders, data collection and analysis, and scientific writing. 39, 41, 49 However, with increasing clinical and community health responsibilities-including allocation of staff and resources to new disease priorities-it is important to monitor and evaluate health care workers for mental health stressors and mitigate risk of burnout. 39, 41 Using Digital Health Interventions for TB Care

Existing electronic health technologies (eHealth), defined as platforms that use information and communication technologies, 52 have the potential to change the paradigm in TB management. These digital innovations can offer remote support through video-supported therapy and electronic medication monitors for health care workers to guide TB patients through their clinical management, identify and monitor co-morbidities, and encourage treatment adherence. 33, 36, 38, 39 Mobile health solutions (mHealth) facilitate the delivery of short message service (SMS) and WhatsApp messages as well as geographic information systems (GIS) mapping for direct contact and delivery of test results and health information, 39, 47 especially reaching at-risk communities. 33 With increased public interest observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, these digital approaches can enhance public engagement on infectious disease monitoring and offer informative fact sheets on multiple infectious diseases. 39, 44 These telemedicine applications, albeit with clear benefits for provider-patient engagement, raise potential questions for health care delivery. Some remaining issues include the ability to ensure patient safety, warrant data privacy and storage, conduct appropriate virtual physical exams, follow limited established protocols, evaluate costeffectiveness, and assess adherence to improve overall equity and efficiency. 41, 43, 45 Although comprehensive in-person evaluations cannot be eliminated from acute and chronic patient care, 42 an integrated approach of in-person consultations and complementary telemedicine applications can pave the future for TB prevention and control efforts.

This is the first known rapid review to examine the existing challenges to be addressed and proposed recommendations to strengthen TB efforts in low-and middle-income countries during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The End TB Strategy targets were approached in 2020, but not met, with established targets of 20% decrease in incidence rates (reported 9% decrease) and 35% decrease in mortality rates (reported 14% decrease), with continued challenges in the Americas and African regions. 1, 53, 54 Increased attention to TB efforts will be fundamental in the upcoming years to combat the decreased TB notification rates reported during the COVID-19 pandemic; support national policies that prioritize integral, patient-centered TB care; and expand current initiatives to end TB transmission. 53 Since emerging One Health threats continue to affect the global society, health leaders must be innovative in their contributions to clinical and community settings. Global health systems must be vigilant and prepared to adapt current evidence-based practices to meet societal needs of the next decade. 55 In this review, selected studies identified challenges in TB control efforts-such as overwhelmed health systems and insufficient support for the health care workforce-that will require novel solutions to improve access and availability of diagnostic and treatment services for TB patients. The use of ground-breaking approaches, data, and practices that can help identify specific challenges, such as country-specific social, economic, and cultural contexts that influence health-seeking behaviors and treatment adherence, 35 should be considered in maintaining sustainable TB programs.

A robust national health system with skilled leadership, trained health care workforce, health system and research investment, and direct connections with community stakeholders has the potential to achieve the national and international objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3.3) and the End TB Strategy. Political commitment will enhance national preparedness and guarantee an immediate public health response, noting stressors (e.g., dual health priorities) to a well-functioning health system. 56 Continued investment in operational TB research is essential to identify knowledge gaps, develop sophisticated scientific inquiries, establish methodological and analytical approaches, and implement findings in public health practice. 54, 57, 58 Strengthening links with primary care centers and relevant community stakeholders will elucidate 64 Supporting a highly trained health care workforce and safe workplace environments is the responsibility of national health systems, especially with the renewed emphasis on the public-private mix for TB care and prevention. Comprehensive training with required annual continuing education hours for the health care workforce across the public and private sector will reinforce robust technical capacity, offer uniformity across institutions, and expand reach to resource-limited areas. 65 Appropriate incentives for health care workers, such as financial bonuses, professional recognition, and supervisory positions, have the potential to motivate self-confidence and morale in professional competencies as well as enhance work satisfaction and productivity. 66 Without this support, the brain drain phenomenon can lead to significant health care workforce shortages as workers migrate to other countries that offer improved working conditions, higher salaries or incentives, personal security, and professional recognition. 67 Supervisors can also provide mentorship and objective feedback, encouraging health care workers to reach specific milestones in their performance plan. 68 Digital health interventions can transform TB care by disseminating essential health information, supporting treatment adherence, and encouraging health-seeking behaviors among TB patients. With increased interest and versatility among health professional students, social media platforms have been successfully used to expand health communication efforts during the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa 69 and guide One Health community field campaigns. 70 It has the potential to combat the "infodemic"-defined as the rapid spread of false information-of TB and other stigma-associated diseases like COVID-19 71 as well as streamline operational networks in the public-private mix approach. 61 Furthermore, telemedicine applications have strengthened provider-patient engagement and TB diagnostic and treatment adherence through text messaging 72 and computer-aided technology. 73 Patient safety issues, however, should be evaluated, especially ensuring data security and storage, confirming internet connectivity and related infrastructure, and training health workers in remote technologies. 43, 73 Although the use of broadband internet can substantially enhance the innovative delivery of TB health care services and educational programs, national health systems should identify existing disparities in internet access that can further exacerbate the "digital divide" as a social determinant of health. 11, 74 Limitations This study has a few limitations. First, although the authors participated in the data analysis and selected the final themes, they recognize that data may be interpreted in alternative ways. 75 Second, the study utilized 5 databases for peer-reviewed articles but may have overlooked other relevant papers in the gray literature or other scientific databases. Finally, this study did not evaluate the quality of described challenges and recommendations of selected articles, although this task is not obligatory for rapid reviews. 24 However, authors did critically analyze the study findings from original research articles and reviews with more substantial detail, than the letters and perspective articles.

This rapid review summarizes areas for improvement in health system preparedness for optimal TB control across low-and middle-income countries. These findings can aid in the development of national policies to promote integral, patient-centered TB care, facilitate the implementation of ethical community interventions, support operational research, and allow the integration of appropriate eHealth applications. By better understanding challenges in TB prevention and control with coexisting health priorities, TB program managers and primary care practitioners can serve as instrumental leaders and patient advocates to deliver high-quality and sustainable TB care that leads to achieving targets of the End TB Strategy.

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Cite this article as: Chapman HJ, Veras-Estévez BA. Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen TB infection control: a rapid review

The authors recognize the significant contributions