title: Do transportation subsidies and living allowances improve tuberculosis control outcomes among internal migrants in urban Shanghai, China?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tuberculosis (TB) in internal migrants is one of three threats for TB control in China. To address this threat, a project was launched in eight of the 19 districts of Shanghai in 2007 to provide transportation subsidies and living allowances for all migrant TB cases. This study aims to determine if this project contributed to improved TB control outcomes among migrants in urban Shanghai.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a community intervention study. The data were derived from the TB Management Information System in three project districts and three non-project districts in Shanghai between 2006 and 2010. The impact of the project was estimated in a difference-in-difference (DID) analysis framework, and a multivariable binary logistic regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1872 pulmonary TB (PTB) cases in internal migrants were included in the study. The treatment success rate (TSR) for migrant smear-positive cases in project districts increased from 59.9% in 2006 to 87.6% in 2010 (P < 0.001). The crude DID improvement of TSR was 18.9%. There was an increased probability of TSR in the project group before and after the project intervention period (coefficient = 1.156, odds ratio = 3.178, 95% confidence interval: 1.305-7.736, P = 0.011).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study showed the project could improve treatment success in migrant PTB cases. This was a short-term programme using special financial subsidies for all migrant PTB cases. It is recommended that project funds be continuously invested by governments with particular focus on the more vulnerable PTB cases among migrants.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China . ; School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China .
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Laiwa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mei
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011632:Public Assistance; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D014186:Transportation / Q000191:economics; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
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