A successfull Method of Preventing TB, Applied by The Center of Health Politics and Services
August 1st, 2008
According to the opinion of many health specialists, tuberculosis represents the real disease of the century… Not but that the bacillus that causes this disease was identified with more than 100 years ago.
With all these, the medicines that can cure the disease are within reach for physicians even from the first half of the previous century; Tuberculosis (TB) continues today to have victims, whose number is significant...
It looks like, although our "weapons" improve, the "enemy" acquires the cunning to survive and attack the sensitive organs, with a decreased immunity.Unfortunately, the statistics data place Romania on one of the first places in Europe regarding the number of TB patients, especially the forms of tuberculosis resistant to regular treatment therapy. What can we do to be healthier? How can we prevent this disease?
These are some questions that need an urgent answer from us and especially from the whole medical world.In most cases, Tuberculosis was associated with the lack of health education and information and also with the social problems generated by material difficulties.
The classic image of Tuberculosis was associated with the one of a poor person, stuck in all kind of deficiencies, with no knowledge about the disease, depressed and rejected by the community...Definitely, the times, profile and implicitly the situation of the TB patients have changed.
But there is still a way long to go until we can state that we succeeded to control or influence the TB evolution.In this respect, a priority focus of the preventive health is represented by the informative-education campaigns. These campaigns have an essential role not only in prevention but also in fighting against the TB patients' discrimination and marginalization and in ensuring the necessary support for them.
For organizing this kind of interventions were involved both governmental organizations and many organizations and associations representing the civil society in Romania.
During the past years, The Center for Health Policies and Services (CHPS) coordinated and developed multiple information and prevention programs for disorders that cover a large area of medical specialties.
Benefiting of the financial support of Global Fund, Round 6th CHPS started at the beginning of this year a project designed for changing the behavior with an increased risk of getting TB with a special focus on involving the community and its role in combating and limiting the disease.
As a desire to facilitate the population's access to information, had been organized mobile caravans throughout 12 affected counties, especially addressing to the vulnerable groups from the isolated areas and rroma population. Why to them? Because for some persons out of disadvantaged groups is easier and more efficient to bring the service towards the beneficiary than other way around. Because in this communities is a need of information, assistance, support..
Until the end of June there had been fulfilled over 66 interventions during the 31 caravans. These caravans crossed 49 localities, many of them being poor or isolated. The number of the persons participated to the information and education actions organized by CHPS are also impressive: 3.230, for a single quarter!
Certainly, in this ample initiative, CHPS was not the only involved organization. A contribution to the good functioning of the initiative was insured by its partners, that participated to the prevention activities carried out in the disadvantaged communities: Medical Students Society in Bucharest (who organized 4 caravans) and also the county technical coordinators of the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP), who organized information activities in other 27 caravans, in Arad, Botosani, Caras-Severin, Hunedoara, Ialomiţa, Mehedinţi, Olt, Prahova, Timiş and Tulcea.It is remarkable the practical and emotional involvement of the future physicians in enduring the population's health with whom they will collaborate after having the Hippocrates oath, and also the impressive effort that CHPS made for coordinating all these initiative!
What exactly stood for the mobile caravans and what was its role? Each caravan was composed by 1-2 specialists together with trained persons. They presented an educational film elaborated for this campaign to some groups having an average of 50 people; they answered the participants' questions.For many participants, although they were adults or even elders, this was the first opportunity to clarify some uncertainties on TB, to question and to receive competent answers on TB. Sad, but true...
It shall be underlined the fact that also in this quarter excelled a special interest for such interventions on behalf of both the local representatives (mayors, teachers, family physicians) and the population of the respective areas.
Since one of the target groups was the rroma population, the participants' mobilization was made in collaboration with the National Agency for Rroma. The collaboration memorandum signed by this institution and CHPS represented an important step in improving the access of the rroma population to health services and programs.
The CHPS mobile caravans will continue to cross the areas with an increased number of TB cases. You can find them during you travel throughout the country. What they accomplished and what they forecast can only be a benefit for the communities.
The results will be visible for all of us over some time, when we hope Romania will not be mentioned among the countries where TB is a real problem.Till then, there is still a way long to go.
The first steps had been taken. What left for us is to keep looking towards future with more courage …
Stated by dr. Mihaela Stefanescu, RAA Liaison Officer
