A country-wide evaluation of infection control for tuberculosis in health-care facilities in Armenia

Joshua Chadwick Jayaraj; Karapet Davtyan; Hayk Davatyan; Anush Khachatryan; Armen Hayrepetyan; Lilit Khachatryan; Seda Abgaryan; Anthony Reid; Chinmay Laxmeshwar; Veerle Hermans; Maite Guardiola; Timothy Grieve; Rony Zachariah

doi:10.3855/jidc.11021

A country-wide evaluation of infection control for tuberculosis in health-care facilities in Armenia

Authors

Joshua Chadwick Jayaraj Tuberculosis Prevention and Research Center NGO, Yerevan, Armenia
Karapet Davtyan Tuberculosis Prevention and Research Center NGO, Yerevan, Armenia
Hayk Davatyan National Tuberculosis Control Center, Yerevan, Armenia
Anush Khachatryan National Tuberculosis Control Center, Yerevan, Armenia
Armen Hayrepetyan National Tuberculosis Control Center, Yerevan, Armenia
Lilit Khachatryan Global Fund Projects Coordinating Team at the Ministry of Health, Yerevan, Armenia
Seda Abgaryan National Center for AIDS Prevention, Yerevan, Armenia
Anthony Reid Médecins sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium
Chinmay Laxmeshwar Médecins sans Frontières, Zhytomyr, Ukraine
Veerle Hermans Operational Research Unit (LuxOR), Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, Luxembourg Luxembourg
Maite Guardiola Médecins sans Frontières, Operational Center Barcelona, Nairobi, Kenya
Timothy Grieve UNICEF, New York, United States
Rony Zachariah UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.11021

Keywords:

Implementation, TB Health-care facilities, Barriers, Operational research, SORT IT

Abstract

Introduction: Infection control at health facilities is an important part of TB control programmes. To assess the implementation of tuberculosis infection control (TB IC) measures and barriers hindering their implementation in TB health care facilities (HCFs) in Armenia; to report the feasibility of using the WHO recommended checklist.

Methodology: A cross-sectional survey using WHO TB-IC checklist and direct observations was conducted between January and May 2018.

Results: The survey included all 62 TB institutions in Armenia. TB HCFs in Armenia had implemented some recommended TB IC measures: offering IC training to staff (48%), shortening time to diagnosing TB to less than one day (29%) and ensuring good ventilation (60%). N95 respirators were available in all HCFs. However, barriers that hindered implementation of TB IC measures were: lack of training, a different incentive model for primary care doctors versus TB doctors and lack of space and poor conditions of the building.

Conclusion: The use of the standardized WHO checklist in this first evaluation of TB IC measures in Armenia was found to be useful and feasible in identifying areas of weak IC implementation and barriers to achieving good infection control. Other TB programs may benefit from the use of this model of assessment, based on the WHO checklist.

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Published

2019-05-16

How to Cite

Jayaraj JC, Davtyan K, Davatyan H, Khachatryan A, Hayrepetyan A, Khachatryan L, Abgaryan S, Reid A, Laxmeshwar C, Hermans V, Guardiola M, Grieve T, Zachariah R (2019) A country-wide evaluation of infection control for tuberculosis in health-care facilities in Armenia. J Infect Dev Ctries 13:035S-041S. doi: 10.3855/jidc.11021

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Issue

Vol. 13 No. 05.1: May 2019 - SUPPLEMENT

Section

The Armenian SORT IT Course

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