Undergraduate Research Reports & Masters Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://research.unilus.ac.zm/handle/123456789/447
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Item Specimen Referral System - Related Factors associated with Laboratory TB Case Detection: A Cross - Sectional Study(2026) CHIMBUMBYA, RobertsonTuberculosis (TB) remains a public health concern globally. To effectively fight and control TB, enabling timely access to rapid diagnostic tools is key for the detection of bacteriologically confirmed TB. A weak TB diagnostic network could lead to an increased number of undiagnosed TB cases due to limited access to improved rapid diagnostic tools. To determine the association between sample referral factors and the detection of bacteriologically confirmed TB cases. The researcher used an analytical cross-sectional design to evaluate the impact of specimen referral system factors on TB case detection in routine healthcare settings. The data on bacteriologically confirmed TB cases and number of presumptive TB were collected from the facility-based presumptive register from January to December 2024. The electronically generated questionnaire was used to capture information on factors such as availability of the refrigerator, type of facility, type of rider, frequency of sample pickup, distance between referring site and the diagnostic. The adjusted multivariable negative binomial regression was fitted to determine the association of outcome and predictors. The adjusted negative binomial regression revealed that frequency of sample picks up (p = 0.048) and number of samples submitted (p <0.0001) were highly associated with case detection. Other variables such as presence of the refrigerator, trained rider, type of rider, facility attendance and presumptive TB clients that submitted samples were not associated with TB case detection. This study was conducted to determine the association of bacteriologically confirmed TB and referral related factors. It has been noted that frequency of sample pickup and number of samples submitted had an impact on case detection. These findings suggest that investment specimen referral logistics may remarkably improve TB detection in the health facilities. Keywords: Specimen Referral, System-Related Factors, Tuberculosis Case Detection