PRIMARY HEALTH & TUBERCULOSIS IN HAITI

Primary Health & Tuberculosis in Haiti



Primary Health & Tuberculosis in Haiti

Introduction

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading infectious cause of adult death in Haiti, with eight million people developing active disease and three million deaths occurring each year as a result. People ith TB are embarked on perilous journey that frequentl) terminates in death, either following acute illness or at the end stage of chronic debilitating ill health. Nurses are able to support patients in haiti in haiti during all phases of this journey and their interventions can make the defining contribution to the provision of good quality care which influences the likeli hood of more positive patient in haiti health outcomes. The role of the nurse in providing person centred rare to paitients with TB. In addition, an international system of nursing diagnoses is illustrated as a framework for enhancing the clarity of the nursing process. This system also provides examples of how the most frequently identified healthcare needs and problems identified in patients in haiti with TB facilitate the development of a nursing care plan ith appropriate patient in haiti centred outcomes and associated evidence based nursing interventions(Hamlet, 2002)(Hamlet, 2002).

Tuberculosis in Haiti

Haiti has the highest per capita tuberculosis (TB) burden. After HIV/AIDS, TB is the country's greatest infectious cause of mortality in both youth and adults (6,814 deaths in 2007). Haiti is among the eight priority countries identified by the Pan American Health Organization for TB control in the region. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) 2009 Global Tuberculosis Control Report, Haiti had and estimated 29,333 new TB cases in 2007. Of these, 53 percent were new pulmonary sputum smear-positive (SS+) cases. Although Haiti falls short of the WHO targets of 70 percent case detection and 85 percent treatment success rates, the DOTS (the internationally recommended strategy for TB control) case detection rate rose from 37 percent to 49 percent between 2003 and 2007. The DOTS treatment success rate was 82 percent in 2006, a slight increase from 78 percent in 2003. DOTS coverage fell to 70 percent in 2007 compared with 91 percent in 2006, though it was still above the 2005 level of 55 percent. However, in some highly dense metropolitan settings, such as areas in Port-au-Prince, coverage can be as low as 13 percent. The most populated department in Haiti, Ouest (West), has 34 percent of the country's population but only 25 percent coverage(Auer, 2000).

Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in the world from a bacterial infectious disease. The disease affects 1.8 billion people/year which is equal to one-third of the entire world population. A patient who presents with a persistent cough, is unresponsive to treatment, has persistent chest symptoms or unexplained weight loss should be investigated for TB. Any suspicious chest X-ray should prompt further action, including referral to either a chest or infectious diseases physician. The chest X-ray will usually show shadowing in the apical regions of the lungs in TB, but ...