تعليقTo support people with TB during their treatment, health policy-makers and practitioners must appreciate that TB affects all aspects of patients’ lives. A focus on caring for each patient as an individual should underlie all aspects of treatment and care. Overall, the principles for person-centred care and support (described in Section 2) should be followed.
The evidence reviewed and WHO recommendations suggested that a combination of appropriate care and support interventions improves outcomes for patients (15, 23). Selecting appropriate interventions for each patient is very important and requires proper assessments and consultation with each patient to identify her or his needs and preferences. This should be done both prior to the start of the TB treatment and during the treatment. All the recommended interventions should be considered as part of this process – including social support, treatment administration options, digital adherence technologies and the model of TB care.
Box 1 describes the use of the 5 A’s (Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist and Arrange) that help to facilitate a process for identifying the best treatment plan together with the most appropriate package of care and support interventions that best suits the patient.
