Economic incentives for improving cure and treatment completion rates in patients with tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa: a study of feasibility and effectiveness
- Conditions
- Drug sensitive tuberculosisInfections and InfestationsRespiratory tuberculosis, not confirmed bacteriologically or histologically
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- Completed
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 1000
Current inclusion criteria as of 05/01/2010:
1. With tuberculosis (TB), including re-treatment cases
2. Both men and women, all ages
Initial inclusion criteria at time of registration:
1. Aged 18 years and older
2. With tuberculosis (TB), including re-treatment cases
3. Both men and women
Current exclusion criteria as of 05/01/2010:
Patients with multi-drug resistant (MDR) or extremely drug-resistent (XDR) TB will be excluded from the analysis. However, they will receive the vouchers for a maximum of 8 months of the study.
Initial exclusion criteria at time of registration:
1. Children less than 18 years
2. Patients with multi-drug resistant (MDR) or extremely drug-resistent (XDR) TB will be excluded from the analysis. However, they will receive the vouchers for a maximum of 8 months of the study.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method 1. Cure: patient who is sputum smear-negative in the last month of treatment and on at least one previous occasion<br>2. Treatment completion: patient who has completed treatment but who does not meet the criteria to be classified as a cure or a failure. (World Health Organization. Global Tuberculosis Control: Surveillance, Planning, Financing. WHO Report 2004).<br><br>These measures will be obtained from the clinic-maintained TB register, in which all patient outcomes are recorded. Outcomes are recorded at the end of patient treatment (6 months for drug sensitive cases, and 8 months for re-treatment).
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method 1. Treatment failure: patient who is sputum smear-positive at 5 months or later during treatment<br>2. Default: patient whose treatment was interrupted for two consecutive months or more. (World Health Organization. Global Tuberculosis Control: Surveillance, Planning, Financing. WHO Report 2004). <br><br>These measures will be obtained from the clinic-maintained TB register, in which all patient outcomes are recorded. Outcomes are recorded at the end of patient treatment (6 months for drug sensitive cases, and 8 months for re-treatment).