Support 150 Tuberculosis Patients in Moldova

Speranta Terrei believes profoundly in the power of peer support for patients and families enduring the social and health aftermath of a tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis. Our organization has been practicing community peer support for 20 years and its positive results are evident in the recovery of patients we serve. Speranta Terrei had the chance to exchange ideas at the “Peer-Led TB Support Workshop” in Oslo, Norway, in May. The Norwegian organization LHL International, the TB Europe Coalition, and the Latvian Society against Tuberculosis (LSATB) organized the workshop, bringing together experience and insights from 15 European countries. Speranta Terrei’s program manager, Irina, attended the workshop and gave a presentation entitled, “Strength in Shared Experience: Training Peer Educators for Impactful TB Counseling.” 

In her presentation, Irina underlined Speranta Terrei’s longstanding commitment to TB control in Moldova. She outlined Speranta Terrei’s patient-centered model of moderators in which trained peers act as a bridge between patients and clinical treatment. She said training is designed to build empathy, establish trust, and ease the psychological burden patients carry when they are diagnosed with TB. Irina explained how peer support ties to medical aspects, saying “peer educators are trained to not only offer support, but to clearly define professional boundaries, ensuring their psychosocial assistance complements medical oversight without overstepping into clinical duties. Medical treatment cures the disease and peer support provides the vital motivation patients need to persist.”

Irina illustrated these points with a case study of a 38-year old male who had infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient was living alone, without steady employment and with little money. He expressed intense fear of his TB diagnosis and a deep mistrust of the medical system. Because of severe side effects from TB medicine, he had missed doses, endangering his chances of cure. Speranta Terrei assigned him a moderator, who made regular home visits to conduct Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) and arranged psychological counseling and social assistance. During hours together, the moderator revealed his own ups and downs during TB treatment, this compassion and personal touch persuaded the patient to persist with treatment. For Irina and Speranta Terrei, “the workshop was beneficial in learning how countries such as Belgium and Armenia recruit and retain peer educators and how grassroots practices of civil society are integrated into national TB policy, as has been done in Moldova.”

Speranta Terrei applies the peer-to-peer approach in the Respect project, which the StopTB Partnership funds through Center PAS in Moldova. The foundation of the Respect project is to offer support from a person who can understand the fears and challenges of TB patients because of their own experience. Speranta Terrei’s longtime treatment supporter, Galina, meets individually or in groups with patients and families to offer emotional comfort and acceptance of their diagnosis. She motivates them to start and continue treatment and to overcome feelings of isolation and hopelessness, critical to successful treatment completion. Galina maintains regular contact with patients and for many of them, she becomes a trusted person to whom they can turn for advice and support.

Our GlobalGiving donors are a critical part of individualized peer support for TB patients and the staff and patients of Speranta Terrei send you our deep thanks.