Systematic Screening for Early Detection of Tuberculosis through Screening Camps in Tribal District of India – A cost effective way to provide services for TB care and prevention at doorstep of community Systematic Screening for Early Detection of Tuberculosis through Screening Camps in Tribal District of India – A cost effective way to provide services for TB care and prevention at doorstep of community Authors: Archana Trivedi1 , Sanjeev Kumar2 , Navneet Kumar2 , Abhimanu Kumar2 , Binay Sahu2 1International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, The Union South East Asia Office, New Delhi 2Sankalp Jyoti, Ranchi, India According to WHO, screening for TB helps to identify people who may otherwise not seek health care because they don’t recognize symptoms or don’t perceive to have health problem or have barriers in accessing care. Primary objective of screening for TB is to ensure that TB is detected early and treatment is initiated promptly with ultimate aim of reducing transmission of TB in community and reducing risk of poor treatment outcome for patients. Khunti is tribal district in state of Jharkhand (India). District is neglected and backward. There is no proper road connectivity & lack of transport system, villagers are deprived of health care services and are dependent on rural health care providers (RHCPs) for health care. Remote villages in Khunti were identified in consultation with district officials. 26 screening camps were organized from July 2016 – Aug 2017 in hard to reach areas of the district. RHCPs and women health workers, or Sahiais, played crucial role in effective outreach, informing the community about the camp 2-3 days ahead and assisted to bring PTP’s to screening camps. Sputum of PTPs was collected and on-site slides were prepared with support from district TB cell. During July 2016- Aug 2017, from 26 screening camps in hard to reach areas, sputum of 471 PTBP’s was collected and on-site slides prepared. Additional 41 TB patients were diagnosed and put on treatment through these screening camps that could have been un-diagnosed. Selection of site and day of holding camp was crucial for effectiveness. Cost of screening was ~2$/individual, cost of identification of presumptive TB patients was ~3$ /PTBP and cost for facilitating diagnosis was ~36$/TB patient diagnosed. This demonstrates that systematic screening for TB through screening camps is an enhanced outreach activity which can play a crucial role in ensuring universal access. Systematic screening through screening camps is cost effective method which assists in detecting additional TB patients who were un-diagnosed or who were not aware of having TB. Thus screening camps may be considered in remote areas with poor access to health care services. Background Intervention Results Conclusions