Abstract
BackgroundOccupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB) constitutes a major health risk for healthcare workers (HCWs). The HIV epidemic equally affects the workforce because of the mutually reinforcing epidemiology of HIV and TB. Stigmas associated with HIV and TB have become so intricately entangled that they stop some HCWs from seeking care in a context where serious shortages in human resources for health besiege public health facilities. It is thus imperative to research, as well as attempt to tackle, HIV and TB stigma among HCWs. But little has been done internationally—and nationally, only our own exploratory studies. Our project aims to address this by (1) scientifically assessing the extent and sources of HIV and TB-related stigma among HCWs and (2) developing and testing evidence-based, stigma-reduction interventions in public hospitals in the Free State Province of South Africa.Methods/designThe research follows a stratified cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) design. Pre intervention, a self-administered questionnaire with the pilot study’s validated stigma scales is used to measure stigma and other key variables among randomly selected HCWs in eight hospitals—stratified by size and district and then randomly allocated to four intervention and four control sites. Interventions comprise HIV- and TB-stigma reduction activities—mainly Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) interventions—at three social-ecology levels (individual, community, and socio-structural). An outside assessor will appraise the trial mid-way through implementation. Post intervention, all baseline respondents will be followed up to complete the baseline questionnaire with additional items on interventions. Qualitative data will be collected to better understand HIV and TB stigma and explore if, and how, interventions impact stigma levels in the workplace.DiscussionThe study regards as HCWs all staff, working in all different types of jobs, at all levels in the hospitals. Thus, the research addresses HIV and TB stigma across the whole workforce and the entire workplace. In doing so it will (1) generate essential information on stigma among HCWs and (2) implement stigma-reduction interventions that are innovative yet replicable, and potentially beneficial in addressing a pernicious human-rights-based issue.Trial registrationSouth African National Clinical Trials Register, registration ID: DOH-27-1115-5204. Prospectively registered on 26 August 2015.
Highlights
Occupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB) constitutes a major health risk for healthcare workers (HCWs)
The study regards as HCWs all staff, working in all different types of jobs, at all levels in the hospitals
We focus on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and TB stigma because of the mutually reinforcing epidemiology of the two diseases, which has led to a devastating HIV-TB co-epidemic in South Africa
Summary
The project encountered some unexpected delays, stemming from a delay at the funding body, VLIR-UOS. We had to adapt the interventions and consulted the Free State Department of health and the intervention hospitals to jointly redesign the interventions This consultative process ended in November 2016 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the implementing partners, and the issue of a new letter of permission from the FSDoH (Additional file 8); (all preliminary research activities, including the baseline survey, were granted permission under an earlier permission letter (Additional file 7)). The implication for our study was that there would no longer be as much emphasis on encouraging HCWs to access HIV and TB testing and treatment on site, in their hospitals, via their occupational health units (OHUs) This shift, and the continuing shortage of human resources for health in the public health system, resulted in two out of the four intervention hospitals no longer having a functional OHU.
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