Tuberculosis Testing

Côte d'Ivoire's National Tuberculosis Control Program (PNLT), with support from the Global Fund, wanted communication recommendations to get people with symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis to come forward for testing.

We carried out an anthropological study of knowledge and perceptions of cough and tuberculosis. The findings showed that, contrary to what many health workers believed, the population knew the warning signs of tuberculosis fairly well and, in the great majority of cases, turned to modern medicine rather than traditional healers when tuberculosis was suspected. The barriers to testing were neglect and a sense of being strong, especially among men, the fear that tuberculosis might be linked to AIDS, and unawareness that treatment is free.



Based on the survey findings, I formulated a series of recommendations, which are presented in the document below.