30 May 2017 | GENEVA - The latest guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) on TB treatment, emphasize the importance of digital technologies in supporting the implementation of the End TB Strategy. The guidelines contain the first-ever WHO evidence-based recommendations on the use of phones, video or electronic medication monitors to help patients adhere to TB medication and deliver TB care.
Recognizing the future scope and opportunities offered by digital
technologies, the WHO Global TB Programme and the European Respiratory
Society (ERS) have been working together since 2015, to raise the profile
of digital technologies (eHealth and mHealth) as a means to support
national programmes worldwide to advance response to TB and reach the
targets set in the End TB Strategy.
A joint WHO/ERS consultation held in Geneva on 7-8 February 2017 - focused
on the theme
“Digital health for the End TB strategy: progress since 2015 and
future perspectives” - concluded that as the evidence and experience on the use of digital
health for TB increases, further investment and bold action is needed for
improved TB care and prevention. The
newly released report
of the consultation described the discussions held during the consultation
on the state of the evidence for the effectiveness and efficiency of
common digital health approaches to improve TB treatment adherence, the
implementation of priority technologies in TB prevention and care, and
novel approaches and constructs that can influence TB efforts in future.
The consultation brought together 60 experts from a broad cross-section of
technical expertise in TB and other disease programmes, digital health,
evidence review, laboratory science, and programme management, as well as
funding agencies and end-users.
“Digital technologies can catapult the TB response to the next
level”, said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Global TB
Programme. “We look forward to the WHO Global Ministerial Conference
on ending TB being held in Moscow in November 2017 and the UN General
Assembly High-Level Meeting on TB in 2018 which will be critical to
generate the top-level political commitment needed to back bold
initiatives of programme managers, technical agencies and donors to invest
in innovative digital technologies to help combat TB.”
Professor Guy Joos, President of the ERS stated that “the European
Respiratory Society is proud to be among the leading professional bodies
in respiratory health to support WHO and countries to implement novel
technologies and to improve the quality of research to the benefit of our
patients”.
Presentations made at the February 2017 technical consultation
and the meeting report are available on the WHO website dedicated to
digital health for TB.
Click
here
to view the Meeting Report -
Digital health for the End TB Strategy: progress since 2015 and future
perspectives
Source: WHO Global TB Program