I would like to start by thanking God full and a lot of grace, for the health communication training that I received. I admit that before the training I did not have enough understanding of how to carry out the activities on education and screening of TB patients. I lacked confidence while working, I was afraid to talk to people, and sometimes when I tried to speak some of them would not listen to me. After the training, I realized where I was wrong to the point of not being listened to, there were times when I used the wrong phrasing and asked close-ended questions. Now, I know, I use correct phrasing and ask open-ended questions and I am well-understood. Frankly speaking, at the moment, work has become easier and I’m wearing the patients’ shoes, I speak to them using simple language and ask clear questions. One of the successes of the training is using the knowledge to find patients in the community. I met a garbage collector and educated him on TB. I then screened him for TB. He has symptoms consistent with TB so I asked him to give me a sputum sample. He agreed, and I took it to the laboratory. The results showed that he does not have TB but due to his condition, I advised him to get an X-ray. He agreed, and when the results came back, he was diagnosed with TB. I called him to come to the facility to receive his results.
The doctor told him his results and he prescribed him TB medicine. After he started treatment, he told me that he has a fellow garbage collector who has been sick for a long time, he is confined to bed and he is vomiting blood. I asked him to take me to see him. I found that he was in a bad state, I rented a motorcycle and took him to the hospital where he provided a sample. He was given other treatment and was allowed to return home to wait for the results of the sputum test. After two days his results showed he didn’t have TB. I asked him to get an X-ray test, but his relatives refused due to the negative sputum test, instead, they planned to take him back to their village in Moshi and let him die there, believing that his lungs were rotten due to alcohol abuse and he will not be able to recover. I advised them again to let him do an X-ray test, but they said they couldn’t be bothered to lose their money, I went to the street executive office to seek for help from the leaders, who then stopped the relatives from returning the patient to Moshi. The leaders decided to write a cost exemption letter to the health facility, but it was rejected. They decided to seek for donations, and having collected enough money, he was sent for an X-ray test. The results indeed showed that he had TB and pneumonia. He started treatment, and he is now doing well and is back at work.
Source: Anonymous