Project Overview
The unique features of the original TAIMA TB – Iqaluit project included:
- an approach specifically tailored to Inuit, with strong community engagement and active participation from the community in the development and delivery of the program (TB champions);
- an awareness campaign using present day social media strategies including web based material, as well as YouTube videos and a Facebook page;
- the introduction and determination of feasibility of a new diagnostic test for latent TB infection (LTBI);
- strong community engagement at every level and stage of the program
The project had two phases:
Phase 1 was an intensive community-wide TB awareness campaign which began with a press conference in mid-January 2011 and ended May 2011 when the door to door campaign started.
Phase 2 was a door to door education, screening, and treatment campaign targeting households in residential areas at high risk for TB. The education and screening portion of phase 2 took 6 months from June 2011 to November 2011. The treatment portion of this phase ended in January 2013.
Results
TAIMA (Stop) TB: The impact of a multifaceted TB awareness and door-to-door campaign in residential areas of high risk for TB in Iqaluit, Nunavut published in PLOS ONE on July 17th, 2014.
The Feasibility of the Interferon Gamma Release Assay and Predictors of Discordance with the Tuberculin Skin Test for the Diagnosis of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in a Remote Aboriginal Community published in PLOS ONE on November 14, 2014
