Intervention to combat tuberculosis infection in the homeless of the city of Verona

Doctors for Peace, thanks to the support of the Cariverona Foundation, carries out tuberculosis screenings for homeless people and follows them in any treatment processes. It also promotes the hygienic-sanitary training of the beneficiaries and accompanies them in the regularization of health documentation.

The context

Tuberculosis is a disease that is decreasing sharply in the general population, but with a high prevalence among homeless people, due to exposure to atmospheric agents, difficult access to social and health services, promiscuity and poor hygienic conditions, which make these people more exposed to the disease and with a possible contagion.

For this reason, the project carries out early diagnosis interventions of TB in places where homeless people gather (such as canteens, dormitories, etc.) identifying any open forms of the disease and reducing the risk of contagion, ensuring the treatment of those who test positive.

Given the unprecedented context of intervention, Doctors for Peace, in agreement with the actors involved (ULSS 9 Scaligera, reception facilities, Municipality of Verona) considered it a priority to guarantee vaccination coverage against Covid-19 to the beneficiaries of the project: starting from July 2021, 689 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered.

Activities

The diagnostic tool chosen is chest X-rays, practiced directly in the places where the homeless gather. The report is delivered in the following 10/15 days directly to the interested party. If the result is positive or doubtful, the person is accompanied to public health facilities specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases. In addition to diagnosis and accompaniment to the necessary treatment, the project also deals with the hygienic-sanitary training of the people most at risk and accompanies those who are not in compliance with health documentation during the procedures for accessing the services offered by the NHS. The project also mapped the aggregation centers for homeless people in the area, the services dedicated to this category of people by various bodies and collected and analyzed epidemiological data.

The results of the 1^ year

110

Screened people

107

Radiological examinations carried out

Mantoux tests carried out

The results of the 2^ year

117

Screened people

117

Radiological examinations carried out

689

Covid-19 vaccine doses

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