Strengthen External Quality Assessment (EQA) system in Bangkok

• Course Title: Tuberculosis Laboratory Network for DOTS[*] Expansion, 2007 International Training and Dialogue
• Implementing Partner: The Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association
• Organizer: Tokyo International Center (JICA TOKYO)

*DOTS stands for Directly Observed Treatment Short course that is the internationally recommended strategy for tuberculosis control.

My laboratory is the city laboratory of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and provides laboratory services to 68 health centers spread over the entire Bangkok area. I am responsible for supervising laboratory staffs and a network among 19 laboratories which provide sputum smear microscopy at the public health centers, and also undertaking staff trainings.

BMA has introduced DOTS strategy (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course), which helps to increase the curative possibility in TB treatment, to all the health centers located in the Bangkok area. The promotion of DOTS expansion results in an increasing demand in quality of laboratory services. Since the diagnosis of tuberculosis relies on sputum smear microscopy, maintenance of quality in microscopy is necessary to ensure reliable and accurate results. Hence my main aim of this training was to obtain more detailed knowledge on quality assurance of sputum smear microscopy, especially External Quality Assessment (EQA) in order to strengthen its performance level in TB control program, since EQA method is an effective method to improve the efficiency and reliability of smear microscopy services.

With the obtained knowledge, my prime target is to strengthen EQA system being in function now in BMA. In addition to this, I would like to take an action for improving the quality of training and apply various new methods learned in this training, such as micro-teaching method. Some methods/ approaches are quite new for me and opened my eyes with incentives.

March 15, 2011