TB is a preventable and curable disease, yet it is a common cause of sickness and death in children and adolescents. Every year, more than one million children and young adolescents fall ill with TB. Young children are at increased risk of severe disease and death. Adolescents are at increased risk of disease that can be readily transmitted. Important gaps remain in finding children and adolescents with TB and in providing TB treatment and TB preventive treatment to children and adolescents.
This e-course focuses on interventions and programmatic implementation considerations along the cascade of TB care and prevention for children and adolescents.
Language: English
Tuberculosis
Course information
Overview: This e-learning course was developed by WHO. It is a self-paced online course based on the content of the WHO operational handbook on tuberculosis. Module 5: Management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents (2022).
Course duration: About 2.5 hours.
Certificate: Participants with a score of 80% or higher on the final assessment can download a Certificate of Achievement. Participants who receive a Certificate of Achievement can also download an Open Badge for this e-course. Click here to learn how.
Course version: This is “Version 1.0” of this online course. At the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to share your feedback in a course evaluation survey. Please take the time to share your experience and opinions. Your feedback will be used to refine and update the course to produce a “Version 2.0”.
© World Health Organization 2023. All rights reserved. This e-learning training was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is intended to be used as a self-learning course on programmatic considerations for the management of tuberculosis in children and adolescents. All reasonable precautions have been taken by WHO to verify the information contained in this e-learning training. However, the e-learning training is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the e-learning training lies with the reader. In no event shall WHO be liable for damages arising from its use. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted; the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.
What you'll learn
- describe the main gaps in the programmatic management of TB in children and adolescents
- describe key considerations for the programmatic implementation of TB screening, contact investigation, BCG vaccination, TPT, and IPC
- explore approaches to diagnosing TB in children and adolescents, including the rationale for integrated treatment decision algorithms
- detail recommended regimens for drug-susceptible pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB, with focus on shorter regimens and treatment options for MDR/RR-TB
- explain how to implement different models of TB care for children and adolescents
- describe programmatic considerations for interventions for TB in pregnancy and management of newborns to mothers with TB, palliative care for children; and specific interventions targeting adolescents with or at risk of TB
- describe the analysis and interpretation of key indicators on TB in children and adolescents to inform programmatic action and decision-making
Who this course is for
- This e-course has been designed for people who provide guidance at country level on implementing WHO recommendations on TB, for example, managers from national TB programmes and other programmes – such as child health, HIV and nutrition; technical staff at ministries of health; staff from WHO or other technical agencies; consultants; or other persons in similar roles.
Course contents
Course introduction
Module 1: Background and rationale:
This module will look at the main gaps in the programmatic management of TB in children and adolescents.Module 2: TB screening, contact investigation and TB prevention among children and adolescents:
This module will look at TB screening, contact investigation and prevention among children and adolescents.Module 3: TB diagnostic approaches in children and adolescents:
This module will explore diagnostic approaches for TB in children and adolescents.Module 4: Treatment of drug-susceptible TB in children and adolescents:
This module will explore the latest guidance on the treatment of drug-susceptible TB in children and adolescents.Module 5: Drug-resistant TB and post-TB health in children and adolescents:
This module will explore drug-resistant TB and post-TB health in children and adolescents.Module 6: Models of TB care for children and adolescents:
This module will explore models of TB care for children and adolescents.Module 7: Management of TB in special situations:
This module explores TB in children and adolescents in special situations.Module 8: Monitoring and evaluation, and TB surveillance updates:
This module will explore monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of TB services for children and adolescents, and WHO updates in TB surveillance.Final assessment
End of course evaluation
Acknowledgments
Enroll me for this course
Certificate Requirements
- Gain a Record of Achievement by earning at least 80% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.
- Gain an Open Badge by completing the course.