MODEL OF PARTNERSHIP FOR IMPROVING THE TB CONTROL IN THE HOMELESS PEOPLE FROM BUCHAREST
Abstract:
Background: Despite the progress done in fighting against TB in the modern world, this disease still remains a very important public health problem for the general population. The problem is still more important in Romania, which is an endemic area for TB since decades. TB is even harder to control in some vulnerable groups among which we will refer to adult homeless It is estimated that around 5000 live in Bucharest Aim: to analyze the real access to NTP of homeless adults from Bucharest, through the partnership with a civil society organization that provides medical and social services. Methods: A pilot prospective study was designed based on the collaboration between the NTP and SAMUSOCIAL Romania. Proportion of TB suspects, access to NTB and case-prevalence were followed with specific tools. Results: We examined around 8 % of the homeless population. Among them, 25.3%, were TB suspects. Among the suspects, less than half accessed the NTP and 19.1% from those investigated were found positive for TB. Conclusions: Behind the limitations, our study showed that TB prevalence could be much higher in homeless people compared to the general population. Also, ensuring an appropriate legal framework for proving free access to NTP seems to be insufficient to guarantee the real access to TB diagnosis and treatment for particular groups. New innovative approaches are needed to improve the access of homeless people to NTP, among which partnership with civil society should be considered.
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