Early Detection and Treatment Programs for Tuberculosis, Including Latent TB – POCU 4.9
About the project
The project “Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Tuberculosis, Including Latent TB” is implemented by the Marius Nasta Institute and Romanian Angel Appeal, benefiting communities in 20 counties, specifically targeting areas with previously identified TB cases.
- Contract No. POCU/225/4/9/117426 (SMIS Code 2014+: 117426) is funded by the Operational Human Capital Program.
- Priority Axis 4: Social Inclusion and Combating Poverty
- Thematic Objective 9: Promoting social inclusion, combating poverty, and any form of discrimination
- Investment Priority 9: Increasing access to sustainable and high-quality services, including healthcare and general social services
- Specific Objective 4.9: Enhancing access to sustainable and high-quality services, including healthcare and general social services
Goal and General Objectives
The project promotes social inclusion, poverty reduction, and the elimination of any form of discrimination by focusing on the prevention, active detection, and diagnosis of tuberculosis, including latent tuberculosis, for selected individuals from vulnerable groups.
The general objectives of the project aim to increase access to sustainable and high-quality services, including medical and social services of general interest, through:
- Organizing health programs and services aimed at the prevention, early detection (screening), diagnosis, and early treatment of tuberculosis, including latent tuberculosis, for 75,010 individuals from vulnerable groups.
- Providing support and assistance activities for optimizing treatment, psychological counseling, peer-to-peer support, including subsidies for 15,003 individuals from vulnerable groups.
- Conducting information, education, and awareness activities targeted at specific groups and the general public, at the individual, group, and community levels.
- Organizing training programs for 560 socio-medical professionals to ensure an improved level of skills in the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and early treatment of tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis.
Target Group
The target group (TG) will consist of individuals from vulnerable groups and will be located across all 8 development regions. Selection of TG members will adhere to the guidelines, with 10% of the TG coming from the Bucharest-Ilfov region and 90% from the other 7 less developed regions.
For the TG of medical service professionals, the same principle will apply. The TG’s origin will be interpreted based on the members’ place of residence (rural areas, from vulnerable groups).
The 75,010 members of the TG – individuals from vulnerable groups – will fall into one of the following vulnerability situations:
- Individuals from disadvantaged social categories with limited access to medical care
- Individuals living in isolated or ethnic minority communities
- Large families living in the same household
- Individuals suffering from alcohol, drug, and other substance dependencies
- Individuals living in poor hygiene conditions or at the poverty line, homeless individuals
- Individuals deprived of freedom or under judicial control
Context and Expected Results
Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious and contagious disease. Medical experience shows that for every active TB case detected, there are about 10 undiagnosed cases. The project’s role is to help at-risk populations access rapid diagnostic methods, enabling early detection and treatment.
TB can be cured if diagnosed promptly. Therefore, the 75,010 selected individuals from all counties will benefit from lung screening services provided through mobile caravans reaching rural communities , ensuring easy access to these services.
Among these, 15,003 individuals will be referred to specialists following screening investigations. Vulnerable participants diagnosed with TB or latent TB will receive social and emotional support, daily program management assistance, useful information, psychological counseling, access to medical services, and resources for TB care.
Training for 560 socio-medical professionals involved in TB treatment will enhance their skills, improving the quality of healthcare services in accordance with World Health Organization standards.
Long-Term Impact:
Most TB patients, including those with latent TB, come from low socio-economic backgrounds, living in poor, insecure conditions or remote rural areas.
The combination of TB and poverty often leads to:
- Isolation from family and friends
- Lack of information about available support and services
- Difficulty meeting basic needs and accessing healthcare services
- Inability to buy food, medication, or visit doctors
- Job loss and indebtedness
- Non-adherence to treatment and interruptions due to returning to work to support the family
Progress in controlling TB, including latent TB, in Romania and other parts of the European Economic Area, requires investment in strengthening national TB control program components (diagnosis, treatment, and prevention) and addressing social determinants of TB.
Ensuring timely diagnosis followed by uninterrupted, complete, and high-quality anti-TB treatment regimens, Directly Observed Treatment (DOT), and patient incentives (financial, food) to improve treatment adherence will lead to better treatment success rates. This will allow patients to return to work and become productive citizens. Additionally, preventive interventions in poor rural communities will increase healthcare service uptake, reduce TB cases (including latent TB), decrease stigma and discrimination, and improve the social and economic status of community members.
Enhancing the training of senior and mid-level medical staff will lead to higher-quality care, increase the number of treatable conditions managed in outpatient settings or family medicine clinics (as opposed to predominantly in county hospitals), and avoid incorrect or late diagnoses of complex conditions. Addressing the specific needs of the target group through a national training program will ultimately improve population health and life expectancy, approaching levels seen in the European Union.
Partnership
The “Marius Nasta” Pneumophtysiology Institute in Bucharest, the national coordinator of this project, is the most prestigious medical institution with a long-standing tradition in diagnosing and treating lung diseases and implementing the national strategy for tuberculosis surveillance and control.
The project POCU/4.9/225/117426, “Organizing Early Detection (Screening), Diagnosis, and Early Treatment of Tuberculosis, Including Latent Tuberculosis,” is implemented nationwide by the “Marius Nasta” Pneumophtysiology Institute as the Beneficiary, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and in partnership with: Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation (RAA), the Romanian Anti-AIDS Association (ARAS), the National Union of Organizations of People Affected by HIV/AIDS (UNOPA), the Center for Health Policies and Services Foundation (CPSS), SamuSocial Romania Association, and the Association for Supporting Patients with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (ASPTMR).
Within the project, the RAA Foundation is responsible for carrying out the professional training program for 560 socio-medical workers and for coordinating the screening activities for the rural population in 20 counties across 4 development regions as follows:
- North-West: Maramureș, Satu-Mare, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Sălaj
- Central: Brașov and Covasna
- South-Oltenia: Dolj, Olt, Gorj, Mehedinți, Vâlcea
- South-Muntenia: Argeș, Dâmbovița, Teleorman, Giurgiu, Prahova, Ialomița
