Perspectives and experiences of patients and health care workers on pre-treatment loss to follow up in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis: protocol for a qualitative evidence synthesis.
Year: 2021
Type: preprint
Study design: Study Protocol
Abstract: BackgroundSince 2018, there has been substantial progress with over 14 million people being treated for tuberculosis globally. However, the disease incidence and mortality are not falling fast enough to meet global targets, and, in addition, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to counter the gains made in recent years. Pre-treatment loss to follow up is one of the factors that has been shown to contribute substantially to patient losses in the TB care cascade with subsequent high community transmission and mortality rates. This could be due to factors related to the patients as well as the health care workers. Therefore, conducting this review will enable us to identify, appraise and synthesize evidence on perspectives and experiences of patients and health care workers on pre-treatment loss to follow up in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis.MethodsA search strategy will be developed using SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of interest, Design, Evaluation, Research Type) framework and the search will be conducted in relevant databases. Screening of titles, abstract and full articles will be done using pre-defined eligibility criteria. Purposeful sampling will be considered if there is a large volume of primary studies eligible for inclusion. Data will be extracted using a predesigned form and assessment of methodological limitations will be done using the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI) center tool. Two of the review authors will independently do the screening, data extraction and assess methodological limitations. Any disagreements will be resolved through discussion and consensus. Data synthesis will be done using a pre-determined framework developed using Supporting the Use of Research Evidence (SURE) guidelines collaboration. Confidence of the review findings will be conducted using Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research (CERQual) approach and the findings presented in a summary table.Ethics and disseminationFindings of the qualitative evidence synthesis will be prepared using Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research (ENTREQ) statement using relevant items for the qualitative synthesis. The findings will be published in a peer reviewed journal. The protocol will be registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO).Key words: Pre-treatment loss to follow up, pulmonary tuberculosis, perspectives, experiences, qualitative.
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4244523278