Lay health worker intervention with choice of DOT superior to standard TB care for farm dwellers in South Africa: a cluster randomised control trial

Abstract

Setting: Farms in the Boland health district, Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of lay health workers (LHWs) on tuberculosis (TB) control among permanent farm workers and farm dwellers in an area with particularly high TB prevalence.

Design: Pragmatic, unblinded cluster randomised control trial.

Methods: This trial measured successful treatment completion rates among new smear-positive (NSP) adult TB patients on 106 intervention farms, and compared them with outcomes in patients on 105 control farms. Farms were the unit of randomisation, and analysis was by intention to treat.

Results: A total of 164 adult TB patients were recruited into the study, 89 of whom were NSP. The successful treatment completion rate in NSP adult TB patients was 18.7% higher (P = 0.042, 95%CI 0.9-36.4) on farms in the intervention group than on farms in the control group. Case finding for adult NSP TB cases was 8% higher (P = 0.2671) on farms in the intervention group compared to the control group.

Conclusion: Trained LHWs were able to improve the successful TB treatment rate among adult NSP TB patients in a well-established health service, despite reduction of services.