Preventing tuberculosis in rural South Africa using clinic systems improvements

SAIA-TB: Using the Systems Analysis and Improvement Approach (SAIA) to prevent TB in rural South Africa

['FUNDING_R01'] · BOSTON COLLEGE · NIH-11503467

A clinic-based systems approach aims to improve tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for people in rural South Africa, especially household contacts and those living with HIV.

Quick facts

Phase['FUNDING_R01']
Study typeNih_funding
SexAll
SponsorBOSTON COLLEGE (nih funded)
Locations1 site (CHESTNUT HILL, UNITED STATES)
Trial IDNIH-11503467 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this research studies

As a patient, this project helps clinics use a step-by-step systems method (SAIA) to find problems in how TB care is delivered and fix them. Clinics will combine tools like workflow mapping, data review, and targeted home visits to screen household contacts and people living with HIV for TB and link them to treatment or prevention. The team builds on earlier pilots where they screened household contacts and improved parts of the care cascade. The project measures whether these clinic-level changes lead to more people being diagnosed, starting treatment, and completing prevention.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are people who receive care at participating rural South African clinics, especially household contacts of TB patients and people living with HIV.

Not a fit: People who live outside the linked rural clinic areas, do not attend participating clinics, or have no exposure to TB patients are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, more people could be diagnosed earlier, start and complete TB treatment, and fewer people would develop or spread TB.

How similar studies have performed: SAIA has improved HIV care cascades and prior pilots of SAIA for TB and contact screening showed promise, but larger-scale effectiveness in rural South Africa is still being tested.

Where this research is happening

CHESTNUT HILL, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.

View on NIH RePORTER →

Conditions: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Virus, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Virus

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.