Building social equity and person-centred innovation into the end TB response

N Engel; I Apolosi; A Bhargava; A Bhan; C Celan; A Mak; J Chikovore; Y Chorna; M M Claassens; S Dagron; J T Denholm; M Frick; J Furin; G Hoddinott; D Kashnitsky; K Kielmann; T Kunor; D Lin; A McDowell; E M Mitchell; C Oga-Omenka; P Samina; S A Shikoli; D S Silva; R Stein; J Stillo; H M van der Westhuizen; T Wingfield; A Zwerling; A Daftary

doi:10.5588/ijtld.24.0338

Building social equity and person-centred innovation into the end TB response

Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2024 Nov 1;28(11):517-520. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.24.0338.

Authors

N Engel¹, I Apolosi², A Bhargava³, A Bhan⁴, C Celan⁵, A Mak⁶, J Chikovore⁷, Y Chorna⁶, M M Claassens⁸, S Dagron⁹, J T Denholm¹⁰, M Frick¹¹, J Furin¹², G Hoddinott¹³, D Kashnitsky¹⁴, K Kielmann¹⁵, T Kunor¹⁶, D Lin¹⁷, A McDowell¹⁸, E M Mitchell¹⁹, C Oga-Omenka²⁰, P Samina²¹, S A Shikoli²², D S Silva¹², R Stein²³, J Stillo²⁴, H M van der Westhuizen²⁵, T Wingfield²⁶, A Zwerling²⁷, A Daftary²⁸

Affiliations

¹ Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
² South Africa Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa.
³ Yenepoya Medical College, Mangalore, India.
⁴ Sangath, Bhopal, India.
⁵ Center for Health Policies and Studies (PAS Center), Chiinău, Moldova.
⁶ York University, Toronto, Canada.
⁷ Human Sciences Research Council, Durban, South Africa.
⁸ University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
⁹ University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Victorian Tuberculosis Program, Melbourne, Australia.
¹¹ Treatment Action Group, New York, USA.
¹² Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
¹³ University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa;, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
¹⁴ Université Paris Cité (Sorbonne), Paris, France.
¹⁵ Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium;, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK.
¹⁶ We Are TB, Madison, USA.
¹⁷ Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁸ Tulane University, New Orleans, USA.
¹⁹ Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
²⁰ University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.
²¹ McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
²² Network of TB Champions, Kenya;, Pamoja TB Group, Kenya.
²³ Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
²⁴ Wayne State University, Detroit, USA.
²⁵ TB Proof, Cape Town, South Africa;, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
²⁶ Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK;, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden;, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, Liverpool, UK.
²⁷ University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
²⁸ York University, Toronto, Canada;, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Durban, South Africa.

PMID: 39468025
DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.24.0338

Abstract

Reducing systemic inequities in testing, access to care, social protection - and in the scientific process - is essential to end TB. Incorporating social science methods and expertise on inequity into the mainstream TB response would help ensure that political commitments to equity move beyond symbolic gestures. We convened a meeting between TB social scientists, people with lived experience, civil society and community members to discuss equity within the global TB response. Here, we propose five means by which a social science lens can strengthen equitable, person-centred responses and reconcile the public health significance of TB with the principles of social justice.

MeSH terms

Global Health*
Health Equity
Health Services Accessibility
Healthcare Disparities
Humans
Public Health
Social Justice*
Social Sciences
Tuberculosis* / prevention & control