Table 1 Recommendations for strengthening tuberculosis control strategies for miners and their communities
Dimension | Issue | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
Healthcare | Â | Â |
Primary Care | -Mines provide tertiary care for accidents and injuries but weak primary care | -Monitor adherence to treatment guidelines among medical providers |
| Â | Â | -Evaluate and improve standards of living and safety on mines |
| Â | Â | -Evaluate and implement isoniazid preventive therapy |
Continuity of Care | -Mineworkers cross borders but care does not | -Provide a standardized set of patient-held medical records, and coordinate key care locations across borders |
| Â | -Doctors lack patient information needed to avoid breeding drug-resistant TB strains | -Key stakeholders, including mineworkers' representatives, should create a formal body to investigate and evaluate both within-country and cross-border TB management among migrants |
Recruitment | -Contracts with loopholes | -Provide clear translation and communication of contract implications to workers, with union supervision |
| Â | -Poor literacy | -Include health benefits and protections for contract employees |
| Â | Â | -Allow and encourage family housing and rights to permanent residence |
| Â | Â | -Enforce and produce new laws for occupational safety |
Compensation | -Former and informal barriers prevent mineworkers and their families from receiving compensation at all, or in a timely manner | -Avoid unnecessary restrictions and obstacles to qualify for compensation and receive it promptly |
| Â | Â | -Create bodies of oversight to examine compensation system |