Strengthening Tuberculosis Control in Ukraine: Evaluation of the Impact of a Social Support Strategy on Treatment Outcomes

Author(s): Zulfiya Charyeva, Sian Curtis, Stephanie Mullen

Year: 2018

Abstract:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Ukraine is testing strategies to combat the problems posed by multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and HIV. One strategic mechanism was the Strengthening Tuberculosis Control in Ukraine (STbCU) project, which was implemented in partnership with the Government of Ukraine and national and international stakeholders, with additional funding from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The project’s goal was to decrease the country’s TB burden and to improve the quality of TB services, including detection and treatment of TB, MDR-TB, and extensively drug-resistant TB. It also aimed to provide prevention and treatment support to counter the rapid growth of TB and HIV coinfection. The project started in March 2012 and ended in April 2017. It built on more than 10 years of USAID’s TB assistance in 10 priority geographic areas of the country.

USAID/Ukraine commissioned MEASURE Evaluation to conduct an impact evaluation of the STbCU project. The impact evaluation examined the relationship between select intervention strategies that were implemented and changes in key outcomes. The two strategies of interest were targeting social support (SS) services to improve treatment adherence among those at high-risk (HR) of treatment default; and integrating services and referrals between TB facilities and HIV facilities to improve the timeliness of care and the treatment outcomes for coinfected patients. This report presents findings from the impact evaluation of the SS strategy. A separate brief has been prepared on the findings from the evaluation of the TB and HIV services integration strategy.

This publication is also available in the following language:
Ukrainian