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No. 1, 2006
INTERNATIONAL UPDATE
Workshop Helps Prepare Botswana for Scale-up of HIV Testing in
TB Clinics
Staff of two DTBE branches, the International Research and Programs
Branch (IRPB) and the Communications, Education, and Behavioral
Studies Branch (CEBSB), collaborated with CDC’s Global AIDS
Program (GAP) to develop training materials and present a TB/HIV
Surveillance Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop last July in Gaborone,
Botswana. Botswana’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and National
TB Programme (BNTP), BOTUSA (CDC-GAP office in Botswana), the International
Union Against TB and Lung Disease (IUATLD), and the World Health
Organization (WHO) also supported the workshop.
The purpose of the workshop was to
- Expand routine HIV testing (with counseling and referral) of
TB patients in Botswana
- Introduce the new TB recording forms that include variables
on HIV status, antiretroviral therapy (ART) use, and isoniazid
preventive therapy (IPT) use
- Learn how to properly collect and record TB/HIV data using
the TB treatment card and TB register
- Build capacity by creating a cadre of district-level trainers
About 80 participants attended the workshop, including TB coordinators,
community health nurses, and AIDS/STD unit representatives, from
all 24 districts in Botswana. These participants will serve as trainers
during Botswana’s upcoming national rollout of TB/HIV surveillance
training to facility-level staff in each district.
The facilitators used the “Teachback” methodology, allowing
the participants to both receive and present core module materials
that incorporate CDC and WHO best practices for TB/HIV surveillance.
This methodology develops the training skills of participants, thereby
building future training capacity in the country.
The following TB/HIV core training modules were field tested at
the workshop:
- Introduction to TB/HIV
- Expanding routine HIV testing of TB patients
- TB recording and reporting and new HIV variables
- Use of TB/HIV data at the facility level
Updated versions of these core modules will be used in the Botswana
districts and by other sub-Saharan African countries that are experiencing
high rates of TB/HIV coinfection.
The remaining six modules, specifically targeting district-level
staff, were also field tested at the workshop. These modules will
not be used in the facility-level trainings, but did teach essential
skills for TB/HIV recording and reporting at the district level,
including
- Supervision of surveillance activities
- Using surveillance for monitoring and evaluation
- Use of TB/HIV data at the district level
- Using the Electronic TB Register
- TB surveillance in HIV care and treatment settings
- IPT surveillance
- Development of training strategies (Action Plans)
The workshop was well received by the course participants as well
as the supporting facilitators. Dr. Robert Makombe of the WHO Regional
Office for Africa (AFRO) and a facilitator for the training course,
called the workshop “a most wonderful time spent learning
and teaching new things, sharing experiences, and working out future
areas of collaboration, all in a friendly and professional atmosphere.”
Since the TOT workshop ended on August 1, 2005, the DTBE/GAP team
has worked with BNTP and BOTUSA staff to modify the core modules
and prepare for a Botswana national rollout of TB/HIV facility-level
trainings, scheduled to take place between October 2005 and May
2006. To date, seven districts have conducted trainings for various
health staff involved in TB recording and reporting, including nurses,
doctors, family welfare educators, pharmacy technicians, and midwives.
The TB/HIV Surveillance Training-of-Trainers Workshop training materials
are currently undergoing final revisions and will be submitted for
CDC clearance in early 2006. These materials will be available for
use in other GAP countries at that time. Please contact Lisa Nelson
(lbn9@cd.gov), Kelly Stinson (kqw0@cdc.gov),
or Bryan Kim (bkim@cdc.gov) for
further information.
—Submitted by Kelly Stinson, MPH
Div of TB Elimination
Last Reviewed: 05/18/2008 Content Source: Division of Tuberculosis Elimination
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
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