African Internal Medicine Journal | 07 September 2007
Effectiveness of Community Health Worker Programmes on Tuberculosis Case Detection Rates in Remote Villages of Tanzania: A Meta-Analysis
K, a, m, w, e, n, g, e, k, a, M, i, h, i, g, o, ,, M, b, i, n, z, u, S, s, e, r, u, n, k, u, m, a
Abstract
Community health worker (CHW) programmes have been implemented in Tanzania to improve tuberculosis (TB) case detection rates in remote villages. A comprehensive search strategy was employed to identify relevant studies. Studies were included if they reported data on TB case detection rates in rural Tanzania and used CHWs as a primary intervention. Data synthesis was conducted using random-effects meta-analysis with Hedges' g effect size. The meta-analysis revealed an overall pooled effect of $Hedges'g = 0.45$ (95% CI: [0.18, 0.72]) indicating a moderate increase in TB case detection rates associated with CHW programmes. CHW programmes appear to be effective in enhancing TB case detection rates among remote Tanzanian villages, although the effect size varied across studies. Future research should focus on understanding the specific mechanisms that lead to improved TB detection and explore ways to enhance programme sustainability and impact.