New online course on building professional knowledge and trainers skills

It is our great pleasure to collaborate with our partners from the USAID-funded and PATH-led Support TB Control Efforts in Ukraine project on hosting a new online course on building professional knowledge and trainers skills in the management of Rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (March 16-19). The online training covers the information on the progress and challenges on the implementation of the Tuberculosis Action Plan for the WHO European Region 2016–2020, the latest updates from the WHO consolidated guidelines on drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment, and innovations in TB diagnostic methods. In addition, participants were introduced to the principles and methods of adult learning, guidance on constructive feedback, and effective adult teaching strategies. The design of this online course includes different interactive elements - sharing opinions and experiences of participants, group work, and participants presentations.

 More than 50 participants - academic staff from different scientific and educational medical institutions from Ukraine have attended the online training.

26-28 of January, 2021 - online training on improving knowledge and skills of nurses providing treatment and care for patients with tuberculosis in Ukraine

WHO CC Latvia, in close collaboration with colleagues from the USAID-funded and PATH-led Support TB Control Efforts in Ukraine project, has started this year with a very important online training for nurses providing treatment and care for patients with tuberculosis (TB) in Ukraine.

Nurses play a crucial role in TB patient's care and TB control programs therefore it is essential to strengthen nursing capacity related to TB to enhance the effectiveness of TB control measures. The role of nurses is also essential in delivering and overseeing a patient’s daily directly observed treatment and promoting treatment adherence, which leads to better outcomes for TB patients.

The main objectives of this three-day online course are to introduce the latest updates and evidence in TB clinical management and to scale up approaches in delivering a people-centered model of TB care. The course is conducted through a series of lectures, practical work and discussions, as well as virtual site visits to TB facilities of TB and Lung Diseases Center of Riga East University hospital. 

 25 nurses from the National Institute of Phthisiology and Pulmonology named after F.G. Yanovsky, primary health care facilities, regional TB facilities of Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, Lvivska, and Odeska oblasts have attended the online training. This is not the first occasion we collaborate with PATH Ukraine Country Program, and we hope for the further online or in-person activities to support health care workers in their professional growth and help strengthen Ukraine’s capacity in overcoming TB burden.

3rd TB webinar on December 10, 2020

3rd TB webinar will be organized on December 10, 202 as a part of the Baltic States Tuberculosis symposiums to strengthen the cooperation between three Baltic countries in exchange of clinical experiences, establishing common approaches in TB control as well as advocating for TB priority areas in the countries. Objectives of the webinar are to discuss the priority actions to strengthen the Baltic countries TB control programs and help countries to improve national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, to build the capacity of TB clinicians in the provision of anti-TB treatment, in line with the latest WHO guidelines and evidence and to introduce the best practices in the use of video supported TB treatment solutions in support of TB patients.

On May 22 and June 12, 2020 WHO CC Latvia in collaboration with the Latvian Society against Tuberculosis and partners from the TB community hosted two webinars as a part of the 4th Baltic Symposium for TB clinicians and laboratory staff to introduce the updates from the WHO consolidated guidelines and the latest evidence and recommendation for diagnosis, treatment and management of TB during COVID-19 epidemic. More information about the webinars is available here. 

The 4th Baltic TB symposium is postponed to May, 2021

The 4th Baltic States Tuberculosis Symposium is postponed to May 2021. The Symposium will be devoted to the Baltic States perspectives towards achieving the global targets for TB: reviewing the progress of countries, assessing the successes in implementing the Action plan for TB control in the WHO European region 2016-2020 in Baltic countries, identifying the gaps and challenges achieving the end-TB milestones for 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, as well as discussing the progress and interventions towards improving the situation in the Baltic region's priority areas. 

Agenda of the Symposium will include topics on strengthening the inter-sectoral collaboration on TB, HIV and Hepatitis C, latent TB infection treatment and management, importance of monitoring and evaluation in countries, as well as updates in countries on drug-resistant TB treatment with new drugs and treatment regimens and patient-centered care approaches, including video-observed treatment. 

Acknowledging the need for strengthening cooperation between three Baltic countries to exchange of experiences and establish common approaches in tuberculosis (TB) control in the Baltics, as well as to advocate for TB priority areas in countries, the Baltic State symposiums are organized in Riga since 2016.

First comprehensive online course on clinical and programmatic management of DR-TB

From 28.09 to 02.10.2020 WHO CC Latvia conducted the first advanced postgraduate online training on programmatic and clinical management of drug-resistant TB for TB clinicians from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. This 5-day course was developed and adapted online to build the capacity of TB specialists for the USAID Eliminating Tuberculosis in Central Asia (ETICA) Project on the latest WHO evidence and recommendations for diagnosis, treatment and management of DR-TB.

The training was conducted through a series of lectures, discussions, group work sessions, testing, participant’s presentations, and pre/post-course questionnaires. In addition, virtual site visits to TB facilities of TB and Lung Diseases Center of Riga East University hospital were organized, including virtual visits to the National TB Reference Laboratory, TB outpatient department, and drug-resistant TB clinical Concilium.

According to the training participant's feedback, participants were satisfied with the interactive delivery of the training, well-designed materials, professional facilitators, and good logistics. Most of the participants admitted that they plan to introduce changes in their daily work after completion of the course (e.g. operational research on short treatment regimens, management of the latent TB infection, etc.)

From participants feedback: 

• “Provision of the training materials in accordance with the latest recommendations. Impressed by the quality of the illustrative material presented in the form of virtual tours to hospital departments and laboratories, as well as presentation/provision of material from other locations”.

• “The program was well-designed, the trainers are highly qualified professionals with profound knowledge in all the components of the TB control activity, most topical and urgent issues were discussed”.

• “Specialists will be able to introduce all the theoretical knowledge gained into practice, as well as pieces of practical advice. Besides, wonderful training materials will be extremely useful when there is a need to refresh one’s memory or while deciding what additional training sessions would be needed. Thank you very much indeed for this unforgettable experience".