The Impact of Nurses on Neglected Tropical Disease Management

Abstract

Although Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are largely endemic in the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, they are reemerging with increasing frequency in developed countries. Their diagnosis, treatment, and control are an increasing public health concern that requires a different awareness by health care providers. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are chronic infectious diseases which disproportionately burden poor, rural, and marginalized populations with significant mortality and high morbidity (disability, disfigurement, impaired childhood growth and cognitive development, increased vulnerability to coinfection) that reinforces their poverty. What can we learn from the nurses in developing countries already battling NTD's that could be useful in the developed world? This article provides an overview of distribution, pathophysiology, symptoms, and management of 13 NTDs, with particular attention to the role of nurses in delivering cost-effective integrated interventions. Case studies of schistosomiasis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis address recognition and treatment of infected individuals in developed nations where NTD infection is limited primarily to immigrants and travelers.

The Role of Nurses and Community Health Workers in Confronting Neglected Tropical Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

“…Nurses in many SSA countries form an integral component of the professional public health and patient care workforce and engage in all parts of the NTD control spectrum. Furthermore, in many communities, nurses are the only primary care providers and serve also as trainers and managers of CHWs [ 7 ]. Success in the context of NTD control requires innovative thinking into health care delivery in order to better utilize these valuable human resources outside of health facilities [ 2 ].…”

“…Despite the focus placed on them by this article, NTD prevention is only one of many competing health care initiatives that require nurses’ time, effort, coordination, and manpower [ 7 ]. As such, there remains a major need for expanding the nursing workforce in SSA.…”

“…However, these vertical disease-by-disease programs are often limited in scope, uneven in distribution, conflict with one another for local manpower, and tend to ignore the multitude of other health issues target communities face [ 62 , 69 ]. Also of concern, interest groups and NGOs will often hire local nurses to support specific interests of their funding organizations, which encourages nurses to spend more of their time on these special programs at the risk of neglecting their normal nursing duties [ 7 ]. Ultimately, these well-intentioned but somewhat myopic disease promotion programs are an inefficient means of delivering public health interventions and have even been accused of further fragmenting countries’ larger health systems, causing stress on many SSA countries’ already strained health workforces [ 70 ].…”

Improving access to Chagas disease diagnosis and etiologic treatment in remote rural communities of the Argentine Chaco through strengthened primary health care and broad social participation

“…Strengthening the capacity of rural healthcare agents and medical personnel was essential: the former undertook monitoring of medication adherence and ADRs, whereas the in situ participation of physicians was restricted to treatment indication, clinical exams and improved ADR management. In remote areas of Africa, transference of treatment initiation and monitoring of HIV patients to local nurses improved the access to and quality of health care and cost-effectiveness of integrated interventions [ 51 , 52 ]. Benznidazole was available at the time of our program and timely provision was carefully planned, but these usually are major issues elsewhere.…”

Revisiting Chagas disease and its cardiac implications: an integrative review study for nursing practice

“…Three studies were identified in this review that showed a low level of knowledge among health professionals (doctors, nurses, and community health workers), especially with regard to transmission, diagnostic methods, and treatment [21,22,26,27].…”