THE work of community volunteers involved in the Direct Observe Treatment (DOT) for tuberculosis (TB) patients has proven successful in some districts as assessed by World Health Organisation representatives.
Medical officer for TB and leprosy Dr Rajendra Yadav described the method used in the DOT as very good, where medication was given to the volunteer to give to the patient until the treatment was completed.
Dr Yadav said they visited six districts in the country including Port Moresby and found that 80% of the patients completed their treatment.
“With this method the patient chooses his or her volunteer who could be anyone apart from the family members. This is because family members generally have less authority over the patient, and hence, are not good treatment supporters (except mothers for their young children),” he said.
He added that the spread of TB could be controlled if health services were decentralised out to remote areas and communities in the urban areas.
TB patients are usually given a month’s supply of medication to take and are expected to continue taking it up to six months, but the situation in the country is that 50% of both adults and children stop the treatment after three or four months.

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