OpiniãoIn order to obtain the required information for the indicators described above, a TB recording and reporting system needs to include a minimal set of data elements. Although paper-based systems have been used to collect such data, it is now becoming increasingly feasible to collect data electronically, and this should be the standard aspired to for monitoring TB screening activities. The following strategies can be used to collect the necessary data:
- maintain a log of the number of people screened in each risk group. A special register with individual-level information for each person screened may be used to obtain more refined data about subcategories of persons within a risk group. Collecting these data is resource intensive, but it may be relevant when a screening programme is started as part of operational research. It may be feasible to implement this type of data collection on a continual basis for certain risk groups, such as people seeking care in medical facilities;
- maintain a register of all patients with presumptive TB who undergo further diagnostic evaluation (if a register is used to collect individual-level information for all people who are screened, then this information can be included in it);
- include a field in the laboratory register for noting whether the tested patient was identified through screening and to which risk group the patient belongs;
- include a field in the treatment register to note whether the patient was identified through screening and to which risk group the patient belongs.