Expert Consensus on the Essential Preventive Knowledge of Tuberculosis for High School Students, Kathmandu, Nepal

Published Date

March 27, 2024

Auther

Background: School students play an important role in the prevention of TB at all levels of community. However, there is no consensus on essential preventive messages to be taught to the students. This study aims to develop consensus on essential information about preventive measures of TB.

Method: It is qualitative research using three-round Delphi techniques among TB experts to develop agreement on essential preventive measures to prevent TB and verify their level of agreement.

Result: The essential knowledge to prevent TB is information about causative agent, DOTS process and its importance, sign and symptoms, national strategic plans, and psychosocial counseling. Nearly 91% of the experts agree that information about causative agent of TB is most essential to be informed to the students.

Conclusion: Delphi method is an effective tool to develop consensus. The results can be used for developing the IEC materials focusing school students and the communities.Keywords: Tuberculosis; Delphi; KJ Method; Consensus.

Introduction
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health problem. The incidence rate of TB is 152 per 100,000 populations in Nepal and it has not declined as expected [1]. It is fundamental to prevent
new infections to shrink the burden of TB. Likewise, essential and adequate knowledge of TB, its services including stigma and discrimination helps to break the barriers for TB diagnosis and
treatment services [2-4]. Community people including school students need to be aware of preventive measures at all levels of communities which could be essence to lower the burden of the
disease.

Objectives
The general objective of the study is to develop the consensus on basic and essential information on preventive measures of TB for high school students.

Methods
It is qualitative research that uses the Delphi technique to induce the opinions of experts on knowledge to prevent TB and develop the consensus with the most essential knowledge including level of agreement. The Delphi technique consist of three-round survey among the selected TB experts and agree in the essential knowledge to prevent TB

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I see that the program has been more effective because work has been done with people’s representatives and in close coordination. One indication of this is the large number of people’s representatives who are involved in this program. I wish to thank them for this effort.

Sunita Dangol

Deputy Mayor, KMC

If both those seeking treatment and those providing services undertake their responsibilities honestly, we can be free of tuberculosis, or any disease for that matter. What we want to build is a healthy metropolitan city.

Nucche Kaji Dangol

Ward Chairperson, KMC-18

The program has been launched in Kathmandu, because the urban-centered results will provide us a basis for extending it outside the capital, and in all seven provinces of the country.

Dr. Prajwol Shrestha

Associate Professor, Director, National Tuberculosis Control Centre

In the first phase, we have organized the screening camps targeting populations in eight wards, where there are unsafe settlements and slum areas. We have plans to do screenings in other wards in the second phase.

Sajina Maharjan

Head of Health Division, Kathmandu Metropolitan City

Nepal has been undertaking efforts in TB control in accordance with its international commitments to end the tuberculosis pandemic by 2035 and to eradicate the TB by 2050. For attaining this goal, the program of active TB case finding in communities and bringing those diagnosed under treatment is very important. The campaign is also important in terms of bridging the notification gap.

Dr. Prajwol Shrestha

Director, National Tuberculosis Control Centre

We estimate about age of 20 in Nepal most probably about half of them is already infected with TB. That means if they have problem of stress or change of the nutrition whatever they may develop TB. In total if you infected 10 percent of them develop lifetime.

Dr. Akira Shimouchi

Project Director, JATA-Nepal

People need health and education. First, we need health, without health education is not very useful. If we are unhealthy, there is no benefit of having wealth. The main need is good health. That is why this program of yours is very good.

Khenpo Pema Sherpa

PhD, DI, Ngagyur Memorial School, Kathmandu

COVID infections took an alarming turn after one case was discovered at Teku Hospital. It had led to lockdowns. Here we have 69,000 people with tuberculosis every year. So, you can make your own estimates, think about how many people with TB we are adding every day. And if we do not give enough attention on time, this could result in another alarming situation. This is why (the program) is very important to ensure timely detection of infections and to bring people under treatment.