KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation
KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV) is one of the leading international non-profit organizations dedicated to fighting tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. We are an international center of expertise for TB control that stimulates effective, efficient and sustainable tuberculosis control strategies in a national and international context. We are an organization of passionate TB professionals, including medical doctors, researchers, training experts, nurses and epidemiologists.
Over the past century we have built a wealth of knowledge and expertise, initially by successfully driving back TB in the Netherlands, and subsequently by partnering in the fight against TB in over 40 countries worldwide. We operate from a central office in The Hague in the Netherlands and additional country offices worldwide. KNCV raises funds from individual, institutional and corporate donors. In Ethiopia, KNCV has more than 13 years of experience in comprehensive TB program support of the national program.
Background
TB preventive therapy (TPT), which involves giving anti-TB drugs to people with dormant TB infections, can reduce the risk of individuals developing active TB disease. But despite being recommended for PLHIV and household contacts of confirmed pulmonary TB patients, delivery and uptake of TPT have been slow and remain suboptimal globally. New innovations, such as a shorter regimen that combines two antibiotics—Isoniazid and Rifapentine—taken once a week for 12 weeks (known as 3HP), provide an opportunity to scale up TPT and are becoming available worldwide. Shorter regimens have potential advantages over the previous standard of care, Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), including once weekly dosing, as well as better adherence and completion. However, to effectively scale these new TPT regimens, it is critical that we understand the barriers and facilitators to implementation. Achieving global targets, including those set at the September 2018 UNHLM on TB, not only requires scaling up affordable and safe TPT regimens, but also collecting evidence to guide future implementation and policies.
The Opt4TPT study is a three-year programmatic assessment of TPT delivery across three countries, namely Ethiopia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, to generate critical knowledge to improve TPT uptake, implementation and outcomes. By following a cohort of PLHIV prospectively and directly observing service delivery in health facilities, Opt4TPT’s approach will provide valuable new knowledge regarding routine use of TPT, as well as outcomes during, and following TPT. This study will create an important understanding of TPT uptake and completion from the patient perspective and delivery from the health system perspective. These results will provide actionable information for improving service delivery and the scale-up of TPT. The project also assess the cost of patients of taking TPT, seeking care for symptom of TB, as well as any TB related illness.
Purpose of the position and organizational position
As part of the implementation of Opt4TPT project in Ethiopia, we will conduct qualitative, quantitative, and health economic research to:
As a Research Assistant, you are expected to actively engage in participant recruitment and enrolment, in research-related activities, actively participant retention, and support general administration activities.
Place in the organization
The research assistant reports to the Project Coordinator. The Research Assistant works closely the Research Nurse, staff at study sites, the value stream mapping consultants and IMPAACT4TB team.
3 positions
What does KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation offer?
Profile
As Research Assistant your activities will be to:
Qualifications and experience