FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2004

Report: Health Communication Plays Critical Role in TB Prevention, Care, Treatment

HCP Case Studies, Summary Detail Peru and Vietnam Successes, Lessons

BALTIMORE — Nations struggling with tuberculosis can learn from the successful fight waged by Vietnam and Peru , where strategic health communication played an essential role in helping both countries turn back a mounting TB epidemic, according to three new reports from the Health Communication Partnership (HCP) based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (CCP).

The reports are part of HCP's Health Communication Insights series, which explores issues related to advances in strategic health communication. One report summarizes the lessons learned from both Peru and Vietnam , based on conclusions from two more in-depth reports: The Role of Health Communication in Vietnam's Fight Against Tuberculosis and The Role of Health Communication in Peru's Fight Against Tuberculosis . HCP is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“The lessons shared in these reports may help others achieve what Vietnam and Peru did,” said Youssef Tawfik, MD, MPH, HCP's associate director of Health Sciences and lead author of the reports. “And we hope other countries include communication activities to help reach the global targets because both Vietnam and Peru integrated communication into their overall TB control strategies.”

Peru and Vietnam exceeded targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO) of detecting 70% of infectious TB cases and curing 85% of those by the year 2005. Their success was based on a number of factors, including political commitment, adequate clinical services, trained personnel, key partnerships, and, most importantly, integrated communication activities with consistent messages conveyed through a variety of reinforcing channels.

Strategic health communication enhances the implementation of the globally accepted strategy for TB control — Directly Observed Therapy - Short Course or DOTS, because it can help keep TB patients on treatment, reduce stigma against TB to get patients into treatment, increase case detection, and improve the interaction between health providers and patients. According to the summary, The Role of Health Communication in Achieving Global TB Control Goals , other countries have trouble expanding DOTS because of a lack of political commitment, insufficient and ineffective use of financial resources, little health care worker training or development, poor health system organization, poor quality and an irregular supply of anti-TB drugs, and weak communication components in TB control programs.

“In addition to helping implement DOTS, communication can help gain commitment from political leaders and support from international agencies and organizations,” Tawfik said.

HCP is a global communication initiative based at CCP in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development, Save the Children, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Tulane University 's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. In addition to the five core partners, HCP works with leading Southern-based health communication organizations as well as global programming partners from the corporate sector, international media, academic institutions, and faith-based organizations. For more information about HCP and a full list of HCP partners and collaborators, visit www.hcpartnership.org . To download copies of the reports, visit http://www.hcpartnership.org/Publications/Insights/.