TB Fact Card

This collaborative project between CPA, the Indian Pharmaceutical Association and the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation, is being undertaken in Mumbai, India. The project is trialling an intervention model designed to involve community pharmacists in the promotion of TB prevention strategies at community level and the care and treatment of TB patients on long-term therapy. The project began in March 2005 and ended in April 2006

Project Evaluation

Survey results revealed that project pharmacists were very positive about their role in providing long-term treatment and care to TB patients enrolled in the project. Pharmacists believed they had a valuable public health role in promoting community awareness of tuberculosis; particularly in reducing the stigma and discrimination often associated with the disease. Pharmacists reported that counselling patients on their medication use lead to greater patient involvement in treatment and helped adherence.

In conjunction with community awareness activities, pharmacists mointored treatment for 181 patients who enrolled in the project, providing them with on-going counselling and support, treatment follow-up to encourage adherence, regular weight checks and nutritional information. Results showed that although the percentage of patients who completed six months treatment was lower than that required to achieve WHO target cure rates, the establishment of collaborative working relationships between community pharmacists and private physicians had provided a strong foundation for development of future initiatives in the management of TB by private practitioners in Mumbai, within national treatment guidelines.