Regional DAT workshop for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
In September the Global DAT Task Force facilitated a peer-to-peer workshop in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region in collaboration with the Center for Health Policies and Studies (PAS Center) in Moldova.
It was designed as a forum where countries could learn from one another and share solutions and ideas as a way of further improving the implementations of digital technologies within TB programs.
Digital adherence technology (DAT) implementation experiences were shared from multiple perspectives, including national TB programmes, civil society organizations, researchers, TB affected persons and healthcare providers.
Sevinj Tagiyeva from Azerbaijan presenting on their experience with Video Supported Treatment.
A panel discussion on VST experiences with a person on TB treatment and healthcare providers.
During the programme we had presentations from 7 countries on their experiences with implementing video supported treatment (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan), as well as a presentation of DAT implementation experiences under the ASCENT project.
We had a panel discussion between a person with TB treated with the support of video supported treatment (VST), a TB doctor and a TB nurse discussing their experiences.
We also had presentations on operational research under TB REACH, and research priorities for advancing the field of TB. Costing and sustainable funding for a DAT intervention were also discussed.
And lastly, a deep dive by three countries into the various adherence platforms that currently support the video supported treatment interventions.
As the final segment of the workshop the country teams were divided into groups to prepare plans for the introduction, scale-up and/or evaluation of existing interventions.
Follow up steps
Following on from the workshop the DAT Task Force, in collaboration with PAS Center and WHO-Europe office, will be providing technical assistance to all countries that were present, based on their current status of implementation and context, either for the introduction or scale up of DATs within national TB programmes.
The WHO-Europe regional office will also be conducting retrospective research with three countries evaluating the acceptability and effectiveness of VST in comparison to standard directly observed therapy (DOT) in three Eastern European countries where VST is currently being implemented.
Acknowledgements
All country representatives – thank you for sharing your expertise and experiences on DAT implementations within your contexts.
To the National TB Response Programme of the Republic of Moldova, thank you for hosting this workshop in your country, and for giving us a glimpse into the context where you implement video supported treatment.
PAS Center team were integral in coordinating the logistical arrangements for this workshop – thank you for your dedication, commitment, and professionalism to this task.
To KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation for hosting the secretariate of the DAT Task Force and for facilitating the planning for this workshop.
And last, but not least, thank you to the WHO-Europe office for co-sponsoring this event, and for your continued dedication to DATs in this region.
