Private sector tuberculosis care quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional standardised patients study of adherence to national TB guidelines in urban Nigeria.

Only a third of tuberculosis (TB) cases in Nigeria in 2020 were diagnosed and notified, in part due to low detection and under-reporting from the private health sector. Using a standardised patient (SP) survey approach, we assessed how management of presumptive TB in the private sector aligns with national guidelines and whether this differed from a study conducted before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 13 SPs presented a presumptive TB case to 511 private providers in urban areas of Lagos and Kano states in May and June 2021.

Effectiveness of Using AI-Driven Hotspot Mapping for Active Case Finding of Tuberculosis in Southwestern Nigeria.

: Nigeria is among the top five countries that have the highest gap between people reported as diagnosed and estimated to have developed tuberculosis (TB). To bridge this gap, there is a need for innovative approaches to identify geographical areas at high risk of TB transmission and targeted active case finding (ACF) interventions. Leveraging community-level data together with granular sociodemographic contextual information can unmask local hotspots that could be otherwise missed.

Improving TB Case Detection Through Active Case-Finding: Results of Multiple Intervention Strategies in Hard-to-Reach Riverine Areas of Southern Nigeria.

Background: A major challenge to TB control globally is low case detection, largely due to routine health facility-based passive case-finding employed by national TB control programs. Active case-finding is a risk-population-based screening approach that has been established to be effective in TB control. This intervention aimed to increase TB case detection in hard-to-reach areas in southern Nigeria.

Individual journeys to tuberculosis care in Nigeria's private sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Pre-COVID-19, individuals with tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria were often underdiagnosed and untreated. TB services were mostly in the public sector with only 15% of new cases in 2019 reported from the private sector. Reports highlighted challenges in accessing care in the private sector, which accounted for 67% of all initial care-seeking.

Influence of the new dispersible fixed-dose combination anti-Tuberculosis drug on treatment adherence among children with Tuberculosis in Osun State, Nigeria.

Background: The dispersible fixed-dose combination drug has been recommended as the mainstay of treatment for TB in children. However, more needs to be known about its effect on treatment. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the formulation on treatment adherence among children with TB.

Challenges in engaging the private sector for tuberculosis prevention and care in Nigeria: a mixed methods study.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the practices of private practitioners regarding tuberculosis (TB), and to ascertain factors related to the low contribution of private healthcare providers to TB prevention and care in Nigeria.

Design: This is a mixed methods study comprising a quantitative retrospective review and qualitative study.

Setting: Private health facilities (HF) in Oyo State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria.

Identifying Hot Spots of Tuberculosis in Nigeria Using an Early Warning Outbreak Recognition System: Retrospective Analysis of Implications for Active Case Finding Interventions.

Background: Undiagnosed tuberculosis (TB) cases are the major challenge to TB control in Nigeria. An early warning outbreak recognition system (EWORS) is a system that is primarily used to detect infectious disease outbreaks; this system can be used as a case-based geospatial tool for the real-time identification of hot spot areas with clusters of TB patients. TB screening targeted at such hot spots should yield more TB cases than screening targeted at non-hot spots.