review · Archives of Public Health
A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) among prisoners in Ethiopia, as national prevalence studies in this setting were lacking. Researchers searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochran library, and Google Scholar, identifying 10 studies that met their inclusion criteria. Data from these studies, involving 4086 prisoners, were pooled using a random effect model. The analysis revealed a high pooled prevalence of TB among prisoners in Ethiopia, estimated at 8.33%. The pooled point prevalence was 888 per 100,000 prison population. The study also compared prevalence rates based on different diagnostic methods, finding slightly higher rates when microscopy was combined with culture or molecular tests.
Understanding the prevalence of tuberculosis in prison settings is crucial for public health. High rates in prisons can lead to wider community transmission and the emergence of drug-resistant strains. This research provides essential data to inform targeted health service planning and prevention strategies, protecting both inmates and the general population.
The abstract indicates that this research provides critical data for public health policy and programme development. It highlights the need for effective diagnostic, treatment, and preventive methods within prison settings. This is early-stage research informing public health strategy, rather than suggesting a direct commercial product or service for a specific market.
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Except individual studies with varying prevalence rates, there are no national prevalence studies conducted in prison settings in Ethiopia. Appropriate estimates of the disease is essential to formulate health service plans most fitted for prisoners. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to pool the results of individual studies and estimate the prevalence of tuberculosis among prisoners in Ethiopia. MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochran library, and Google scholar databases were searched for potential studies on the prevalence of tuberculosis among prisoners in Ethiopia. A total of 177 titles were identified and 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Descriptive and quantitative data of the included studies were presented in tables and forest plots. Potential sources of heterogeneity across studies were assessed using the Cochrane’s Q and I2 tests. The MetaXL (version 5.3) was employed to compute the pooled prevalence of TB using the random effect model and 95% confidence interval. Based on the ten studies included in the meta-analysis, about 4086 prisoners were infected with tuberculosis (TB). The pooled prevalence of TB among prisoners was therefore 8.33% (95% CI; 6.28%–10.63%) and the pooled point prevalence was estimated at 888 per 100,000 prison population (95% CI; 531–1333). The prevalence of TB using microscopy alone was 6.59% (95% CI: 3.96–9.50%) whereas the prevalence of TB when microscopy is combined with either culture or molecular tests was 8.57% (95% CI: 4.94–12.6%). The pooled prevalence of tuberculosis among prisoners in Ethiopia is expectedly high. This high prevalence could explain the spread of TB within prisons and between prisoners and varies communities. Thus; attention should be given to prison settings to prevent the transmission and emergence of drug resistance TB both in inmates and general population. Further studies covering large scale prison population are needed to design effective diagnostic, treatment and preventive methods.
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DOI: 10.1186/s13690-017-0204-x
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