Impact of Community-Based Tuberculosis Control Strategies on Early Detection Rates in HIV-Positive Patients in Rwandan Rural Areas: A Five-Year Follow-Up Study

Rwanda has implemented community-based tuberculosis (TB) control strategies targeting HIV-positive patients to improve early detection rates. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted, including participants from two rural districts. Data collection involved passive case finding and active screening methods. Early detection rates increased by 25% among HIV-positive patients who received community-based TB control interventions compared to those in the control group. Community-based TB control strategies significantly enhanced early detection of tuberculosis among HIV-positive individuals, highlighting their potential for broader implementation. Continued and expanded use of these strategies is recommended to further improve public health outcomes in rural areas. Tuberculosis, HIV, community-based interventions, early detection rates, Rwanda Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.