CTP: Supporting an employee affected by TB

Supporting an employee diagnosed with TB

What’s inside:

Read this Chapter to learn how an organization can support an employee diagnosed with active TB.

Expressing Solidarity with the TB diagnosed employee

The employers are advised to provide a supportive environment for the TB diagnosed employees by documenting the organisation’s approach on managing TB at the workplace.

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Ensuring a safe workplace:

• Maintain confidentiality
• No tolerance to stigma and discrimination
• Promote peer employees support activities for TB diagnosed employee
• Contact Tracing for identifying cases if any other employees are having TB

Sick leave and flexible workhours:

TB treatment always involves extended sick leave & the intensive phase of the treatment lasts around 2 months

• HR policy needs to be sensitive to the treatment period.
• Work from home for possible cases depending on the health of the employee
• Considering provision of flexible work hours

Support for continuity of Treatment:

TB treatment lasts for minimum of 6 months, and in most cases the employee can join back to work in and around 2 months. The work place shall ensure the employee is continuing the treatment till the completion of the prescribed course.

Return to work:

The organization shall have a clear return to work policy for avoiding:

• Possible anxiety of employee under treatment as well as other employees
• Prevention of hiding of TB or other air borne infection symptoms

The return to work shall be linked to the medical certification that the employee is no longer infectious.

What’s inside:

Read this page to learn how nutrition is linked to TB

TB Nutrition and workplace :

• Under nutrition is a proven risk factor for progression of latent TB into active TB.
• Especially in the context of India, where both women and men in the country are found to be suffering from high levels of moderate to severe malnutrition.
• In the patients with active TB, absence of nutritional support results in a vicious cycle of worsening disease and undernutrition, which can be detrimental and even fatal.
• Undernutrition has also been associated with malabsorption of key anti-TB drugs.

Evidence suggests that nutritional interventions are associated with:

• Better outcomes in TB patients including reduced mortality
• Improved weight gain and body composition
• Earlier stop of infectivity
• Improved effect of key drugs
• Improved functional status and adherence to therapy

Ensuring proper nitrition to the employee diagnosed with TB will be an adequate measure for supporting him / her in recovering from the disease.

Support through provision of Nutrition Kits to underprivileged TB diagnosed Employees /  Patients :

Thus, if the organization if can support the underprivileged TB patients / Employees diagnosed (and family if possible) with TB with Nutrition Kit, the chances of recovery from the disease will be high.

Composition of Nutrition Kits:

Nutrition support could cost around: Rs.1500 (Rs.2500) / patient (Family) / month.

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Supports for TB patient from the Government

The government of India, through the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) is providing following support for all the patients diagnosed with TB irrespective of his or her economic status:

• Free of cost Diagnostic Services
  • CB NAAT / True NAAT
  • Liquid Culture & DST (Selected samples)

• Free of cost Treatment
  • TB medications
  • Prophylaxis
• Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) – Rs.500 / month for all TB patients during treatment period through bank accounts.

• Adherence Support – To prevent drop out during treatment period
• Public Heath Actions- Retrieval, Contact Investigation / tracing
• Support for TB Notification in NIKSHAY portal of the NTEP
• Training and Capacity building for anyone willing to volunteer.