Task Forces
Since November 2011, members of the Sentinel Project network have worked as task forces— communicating primarily by conference calls and email— on the following joint projects.
COMPLETED
1. Field Guide Task Force
In November 2012, this group published a 50-page practical handbook, entitled “Management of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Children: A Field Guide.” This resource is available for download at http://sentinel-project.org/treatment-guidance/. If you would like to receive free printed copies of this handbook, please send an email with your name, mailing address, and the number of copies that you would like to receive.
2. Management Recommendations Task Force
This group produced a peer-reviewed manuscript that reviews published literature and summarizes expert opinion on the standard of care for treating children with DR-TB. This paper is a companion to the new Field Guide. The full citation is: Seddon JA, Furin JJ, Gale M, Del Castillo Barrientos H, Hurtado RM, Amanullah F, Ford N, Starke JR, Schaaf HS; on behalf of the Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis. Caring for children with drug-resistant tuberculosis: practice-based recommendations. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2012 Nov 15;186(10):953-964.
3. Research Definitions Task Force
This group has completed a consensus statement proposing definitions for use in research on pediatric DR-TB. The revised version of this manuscript is under review at a journal.
CONTINUING
4. Advocacy Task Force
This group is developing a strategy to advocate for improved pediatric formulations for second-line TB drugs. This includes gathering information about previous successful campaigns and querying the members of the Sentinel Project network about specific medication needs.
5. Stories Task Force
In March 2012, this group published a first collection of 13 stories from 8 countries, entitled “Being Brave: Stories of Children with Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis.” In March 2013, this group published a second collection of 30 stories from 30 countries, entitled “We Can Heal: Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment, Care and Support: Addressing Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Children.” Both collections are available for download at: http://sentinel-project.org/stories/. While we do not plan to publish another collection, story submissions are welcome and will be featured on the website and interactive map. The basic story submission framework (list of questions and consent form) is available for download in English, Russian, Spanish, or French at: http://sentinel-project.org/stories/contribute-a-story/. Please send in story submissions and/ or completed frameworks to sentinel_project@hms.harvard.edu.
6. Research Priorities Task Force
This group is developing a proposal to assess and rank research needs related to pediatric DR-TB, by adapting a method that has previously been used to identify priorities for child health research investments.
7. Count Kids Task Force
This group is developing concepts – and seeking funding – for three observational studies that would seek to gather more comparable data about pediatric DR-TB at multiple sites connected via this network.
NEW
8. Diagnostic Evaluation Task Force
This group has begun to develop a concept for a review of current policies that guide the clinical evaluation of children at risk for DR-TB.
9. Capacity Building Task Force
This group has come together to respond to the requests that have followed the launch of the Field Guide at a workshop held at the November 2012 IUATLD conference. That workshop was organized by Médecins Sans Frontières and entitled “Preventing Child Deaths from DR-TB.” Slides presented at the workshop are available for download at http://sentinel-project.org/workshops/ . Plans are underway to develop and conduct at least one course and one webinar in 2013.
