High rates of exposure to tuberculosis patients among HIV-infected health care workers in Botswana

Abstract

Setting and Objective We compared daily exposure to tuberculosis (TB) patients between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected health care workers (HCWs), and examined uptake of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) among HIV-infected HCWs in Botswana. Design We conducted a cross-sectional study among HCWs in 30 hospitals and clinics. We determined self-reported exposure frequency to TB patients and HIV status through in-person interviews. HCWs with unknown or negative HIV status were offered rapid HIV tests. Multivariable Poisson regression modeling with robust variance was used to estimate the association between HIV status and daily exposure to TB patients. Results Of 1877 participants enrolled, 1388 (73.9%) with complete data were included in this study. Among 277 (20.0%) HIV-infected participants, 14.3% were newly diagnosed, 57.8% were on ART, and 34.3% reported previously receiving IPT. Daily exposure to TB patients was reported by 48.4% and 52.9% of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected participants, respectively. After adjusting for sex, age, occupation, and department, rates of daily TB exposure remained similar between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected participants (prevalence ratio=0.96; 95% confidence interval=0.85–1.08). Conclusions We found similar rates of exposure to TB patients between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected HCWs. Improved efforts are needed to reduce nosocomial exposure to TB among HIV-infected HCWs.

Exploring local realities: Perceptions and experiences of healthcare workers on the management and control of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…Because they meet the public on a daily basis, healthcare workers play a vital role, not merely in the betterment of DR-TB healthcare services, but also in developing and achieving TB strategic outcomes and translating DR-TB strategies into action [14,15]. On the other side, it is easy to anticipate that working in healthcare facilities, particularly having frequent and direct contact with DR-TB patients, increases the risk of infection among healthcare workers [16,17]. Cultural, social and economic factors that surround healthcare workers’ working environment affect their role in DR-TB management and control [18].…”

Review of the use of R Programming for Data Analysis in Botswana Research

“…Their findings may inform planning of national CBE screening programming in Botswana and similar settings. Other research like [16] and [17] investigated exposure of HIV and TB of non-infected HIV people among HIV-infected people who have TB to determine infection rates within a community. COVID-19 research has also been conducted, however, there has only been one study by [18] as far as what has been identified that has used R programming for time series modelling of COVID-19 cases in Botswana in a 60-day period.…”

“…All tests were two-tailed with a significance level of 0.05. Analysis was performed using Base R. [16] compared exposure to TB patients between HIV-infected and non-HIV infected health care workers (HCW) in health facilities in Botswana. Their statistical analysis was performed using Base R. No further details were revealed as to which functions were used for a specific operation.…”