Tuberculosis is the most common and serious opportunistic infection in individuals living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa’s Free State Province, more
than 70 percent of all patients with active TB are also infected with HIV. Despite high rates of co-morbidity, however, only 65 percent of tuberculosis patients are tested for HIV.
Partners at the University of the Free State’s Centre
for Health Systems Research and Development (CHSRD) and the State University of New York (SUNY)
Downstate Medical Center are working together to study the evolving HIV-TB epidemic and develop appropriate, effective responses to the public health challenges co-infection with both diseases presents.
With the goal of building the institutional capacity needed to translate HIV and TB research into scientific data that can effectively inform related health policies and practices, partners are collaborating to strengthen CHSRD’s data management capabilities, as well as its ability to efficiently disseminate research findings in Free State and throughout South Africa.
In June-July 2008, three CHSRD faculty participated in intensive summer courses in epidemiology, biostatistics, and
data management at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. What they learned will bolster their ability to conduct and evaluate scientific research. The Free State partners then traveled to SUNY Downstate to participate in additional professional development training and plan for future activities, including a workshop on preparing results for publication and dissemination that US partners will
conduct for CHSRD faculty and staff in the fall of 2008.
In the coming year, partners will also focus on strengthening CHSRD’s data management capacity, particularly as it relates to current projects examining the efficacy of HIV/AIDS treatment and support programs and TB-VCT uptake.
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