Using Direct Observation Treatment (DOTS) to beat tuberculosis - A World Health Organisation strategy to address the increasing incidence of tuberculosis Case Study Teacher's Notes Student Activities Read the case study and complete the following activities: As a class, discuss what you understand about the disease tuberculosis (TB), how it affects the body, and how it is transmitted. As a class, brainstorm the types of conditions or situations that tend to exist in developing countries that might explain why 98% of deaths from TB occur in these countries. Would there be any communities in Australia where the incidence of TB could be prevalent? Explain. In pairs or small groups, select a stage of the life span and use a concept map to show how tuberculosis can impact on the physical, social and emotional development of an individual and how it can impact on families, communities and an entire country. Share your ideas with other groups in the class. The World Health Organisation believe that effective TB control can break the cycle of poverty and disease. Use the information in the concept map to explain how this might be possible. Alternatively develop a flow chart or diagram to illustrate this. Why might the World Health Organisation have declared TB a global emergency in 1993 and developed the DOTS strategy? Would the DOTS strategy be an example of a preventive or curative strategy? Explain. What is meant by multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB)? What factors have contributed to the increased number of cases of this type of TB? How might the DOTS strategy help address this? Draw up a table with two columns. In one column, individually or in a small group, make a list of the strengths of the DOTS strategy and in the other column, list the limitations of the strategy. Use this information to write a response to the claim made by the World Health Organisation that "DOTS is the most effective strategy available for controlling the TB epidemic today". Effective treatment of TB has the capacity to occur in such a setting as a primary health care program. List the key principles of a primary health care program and briefly describe how the DOTS strategy reflects these principles. Describe how effective the implementation of the DOTS strategy has been since 1993? As a class discuss the political, economic and social factors that might have contributed to this. If you were planning to implement a DOTS strategy in a developing country, what factors would you need to take into consideration in order to achieve countrywide coverage? What role could the Australian Government's overseas aid program and non government organisations play in assisting developing countries to control TB through the DOTS strategy? As a class discuss the advantages and disadvantages of implementing a DOTS in Australia.   Top © Commonwealth of Australia