The CATCH TB Cases Project
Engaging the hospitals and communities to find the "Missing" TB cases
The project on Catch TB cases is part of the global initiative in five countries to intensify efforts to find TB cases. It is a joint collaboration between WHO and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
In the Philippines, the project is a partnership among the Department of Health (DOH), WHO and CIDA. Its aim is to help detect the “missing TB cases” in Metro Manila from March 2010 to March 2013.
To catch TB cases, the project implemented three interventions:
- Engaging 17 big public hospitals (5 owned by the local government unit, 11 by the DOH and 1 by the University of the Philippines) in Metro Manila to improve their TB care services and strengthen their internal and external TB referral systems. TB patients diagnosed at the hospitals are either managed at the hospital TB clinic or systematically referred to DOTS facility. Hospitals get feedback whether a TB patient went to the health centre through the returned referral form, phone call or SMS to the facility of patient, and review of the TB registry.
- Intensifying contact investigation in six (6) cities. Health centre staffs were trained to investigate effectively household contacts of registered TB patients. Barangay health workers helped in convincing contacts to go to the health centres.
- Screening population groups with high risk of having TB. These are the diabetics consulting the four public hospitals, and urban poor residents in five (5) cities.
WHO is closely coordinating with the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the Center for Health Development Metro Manila of DOH, LGUs and other development partners in implementing various activities such as policy/guideline development, advocacy, training, communication, logistical support and monitoring.