Effect of specific and sensitive interventions for the social protection of people affected by tuberculosis: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB)-specific interventions directly benefit people affected by the disease and their families, as they are integrated into existing TB treatment programs. Conversely, TB-sensitive interventions form part of a broader social protection framework aimed at the general population. We conducted a meta-analysis of specific and sensitive interventions of social protection of people affected by TB during treatment. METHODS: Studies that used Odds Ratio (OR) and/or Relative Risk (RR) were included. The magnitude of effects was categorized by population and intervention. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistics, and analyses were conducted in Stata version 15.0. A network funnel plot was employed to check for publication bias. The methodological quality of studies was evaluated following The Joanna Briggs Institute recommendations. RESULTS: Thirteen articles were included, covering 82,602 participants. Interventions primarily involved conditional cash transfers for people affected by TB. The results demonstrated that both TB-specific and TB-sensitive interventions had positive effects on treatment success, with an effect estimate of 2.16 (95% CI: 1.52-3.08) for specific interventions and 1.15 (95% CI: 1.07-1.23) for sensitive interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this meta-analysis contribute to understand the positive impacts of social interventions during TB treatment. These results have important implications for the management of health and social services. They underscore the need to integrate such interventions into TB control programs and to influence public policies in settings where the disease remains a major health issue, intertwined with cycles of poverty and social exclusion.