The Role of Communication In Peru’s Fight Against Tuberculosis

Each year approximately over two million deaths are TB related. 95% of global TB cases and TB deaths occur in the developing world. Despite the challenges, few of the developing countries have succeeded in achieving the global targets set by WHO. Like as in Peru, the detecting of 70% infections and curing the 85% among them of the TB is one of the successful stories of TB.

Although it is succeeding in its fight against TB, Peru faces new challenges. The National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP) is carefully monitoring the development of multi-drug resistance TB (MDR TB).


The role of communication:

The NTCP used communication to address several issues that challenged the program. These issues included:

• Reducing stigma about the disease, especially among health care workers, and introducing an enabling environment for case detection and cure

• Gaining support from political, governmental, international, and local leaders for the program

• Raising awareness about TB in general, including the effectiveness of treatment and that diagnosis and treatment were available at no cost

• Improving knowledge about TB case detection

• Encouraging those with symptoms to seek help

• Strengthening the link between health facilities and the community to improve case detection and treatment success

• Improving both passive and active case identification by building health care workers’ capacity to approach and counsel patients and by increasing community involvement in detecting new cases

• Improving compliance with treatment by motivating patients and supporting volunteers, family members, and the community

• Reaching high-risk groups, particularly the urban poor

• Reaching “closed population” groups with high TB prevalence, such as those living in prisons, mental institutions, retirement homes, and homeless shelters.



Communication activities:

The communication activities that contributed to Peru’s success in TB control included the following things:

• Advocacy

The NTCP engaged political leaders, community leaders, the medical community, and the public with the slogan

“Treatment of one is prevention for all.”

It invited the press to relevant seminars, public gatherings, and parades to encourage media coverage.


• Mass media.
Like as
1. Television and radio
2. Print materials

The NTCP used mass media, including television, radio, and print, to reach the public with information about TB. Peru’s high literacy rate made print media an important tool for improving knowledge of tuberculosis as well.


• Interpersonal communication and counseling
• and community mobilization.


Intensive Program: The NTCP created several intensive programs to motivate health care workers, patients and communities to become involved to the TB control program.

Impact:

• The Peruvian government’s decision to make TB a priority of the national health program.
• Increased resource allocation for TB control programs.
• An increase, then decline, in the number of new cases.
• TB was designated a national health priority. It was given a line in the MOH budget and increased support from international donors.
• Peru achieved the WHO target of 70 percent case detection.
• Peru achieved the WHO target of 85 percent successful treatment. It also decreased the treatment abandonment rate from 12.1 percent to 2.8 percent between 1991 and 2000.

Project 'Know Yourself" and project "HEART"

know yourself

Project “know youeself”:

The project is about a implementation toolkit which is “know yourself“.

Objectives:

To reduce the pre-martial sexual behavior among young men and to improve in adolescents reproductive health knowledge.

Effect of the project:

1. Premarital sexual behavior among male adolescents decreased significantly between 2004 and 2005 in the intervention areas.

2. Adolescent knowledge of reproductive health increased.


3. Perceived support of abstinence until marriage and other safer sex practices improved.


Included material:
“Know Yourself” program has included radio, TV magazine programs.

At concluding:

The result from the study suggest that community based workshops, implemented using the “Know Yourself” toolkit can effectively address of the psychological factors and behaviors related to the adolescents reproductive health.



HEART Program--Hope for an HIV/AIDS-Free Future

HEART Program:

“Helping Each other Act Responsibly Together” or “HEART” program is designed by youth, for youth and informs the young adults about HIV/AIDS and discuss ways to prevent HIV/AIDS and promotes abstinence and condom use.

Formula and the development:

The programs first three phases focused on promoting abstinence or in the absence of abstinence, correct and consistent condom use and try to dispel some untrue believes.

To achieve broader youth involvement, HEART included a “Youth Advisory Group” consisting of 35-40 young people from 11 youth organizations to advise the design team.

The YAG developed communication objectives and messages for abstinent males, abstinent females, inconsistent male condom user, all ages 13-19 years.

They pre-tested messages through focus group discussion and interviews including Television broadcast and print materials.

64% of the urban and 14% of the rural respondents were aware of the projects.

By 2003, viewers promoted condom use and 53% of the viewers took at least one action prescribed in the campaign

Radio is widely available in rural Zambia and the messages were broadcasts in five regional languages.

In concluding:

The “HEART” program largely met its goals. HEART project successfully increases awareness of AIDS and reduced unsafe sex. The HEART program should be expanded as much as possible; especially in the rural areas where it has been harder to reach so far.