Abstract.Increasing the active participation of professional women in vector control (VC) activities may help promote greater gender equity in the workplace and reduce the burden of vector-borne diseases. This stakeholder survey examined the current roles and perspective of professionals employed in the VC sector in Kenya, Indonesia, India, and other countries. The largest barriers that women face in pursuing leadership roles in the VC sector include lack of awareness of career opportunities, limitations based on cultural norms, and the belief that VC is men’s work. These barriers could be addressed through improving education and recruitment campaigns, as well as supporting higher education and mentoring programs. Females were almost six times more likely to be encouraged to pursue leadership positions in their organization compared with male respondents (odds ratio = 5.9, P > 0.03, 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 29.42). These findings suggest that once women are recruited into the VC workforce, they face minimal discrimination and have increased leadership opportunities.
reduction-program.html. Published 2014. Accessed July 10, 2016. 4. Dicks KV, Baker AW, Durkin MJ, et al. The potential impact of excluding funguria from the surveillance definition of catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015;36:467-469. 5. Urinary tract infection (catheter-associated urinary tract infection [CAUTI] and non-catheter-associated urinary tract infection [UTI]) and other urinary system infection [USI]) events. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Workshops with academic, national and local government, and community stakeholders were held in Kenya (2017) and Indonesia (2018) to understand the role and perceptions of women in vector control and to identify strategies for accelerating involvement of women in sustained support for vector control interventions at multiple levels/sectors.
BackgroundMigrant farmworkers are among the highest-risk populations for latent TB infection (LTBI) in the United States with numerous barriers to healthcare access and increased vulnerability to infectious diseases. LTBI is usually diagnosed on the border using the tuberculin skin test (TST). QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) also measures immune response against specific Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens. The objective of this study is to assess the comparability of TST and QFT-GIT to detect LTBI among migrant farmworkers on the border, as well as to examine the effects of various demographic and clinical factors on test positivity.MethodsParticipants were recruited using mobile clinics on the San Luis US-Mexico border and tested with QFT-GIT and TST. Demographic profiles and clinical histories were collected. Kappa coefficients assessed agreement between TST and QFT-GIT using various assay cutoffs. Logistic regression examined factors associated with positive TST or QFT-GIT results.ResultsOf 109 participants, 59 of 108 (55 %) were either TST (24/71, 34 %) or QFT-GIT (52/106, 50 %) positive. Concordance between TST and QFT-GIT was fair (71 % agreement, ĸ = 0.38, 95 % CI: 0.15, 0.61). Factors associated with LTBI positivity included smoking (OR = 1.26, 95 % CI–1.01–1.58) and diabetes/high blood sugar (OR = 0.70, 95 % CI = 0.51–0.98).DiscussionTest concordance between the two tests was fair, with numerous discordant results observed. Greater proportion of positives detected using QFT-GIT may help avoid LTBI under-diagnosis. Assessment of LTBI status on the border provides evidence whether QFT-GIT should replace the TST in routine practice, as well as identifies risk factors for LTBI among migrant populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-016-1959-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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