Re-imagining TB Care in Viet Nam
On 21 May, a delegation from Karolinska Institutet joined partners in Viet Nam to mark the close of the Re-imagining TB Care (RTC) initiative and launch a new phase of collaborative tuberculosis (TB) research focused on the long-term social and economic impacts of TB.
In Hanoi, more than 80 researchers, implementers, policymakers, and community representatives gathered for the RTC closing and handover event. Hosted by Viet Nam’s National TB Programme and implemented by Friends for International TB Relief with support from the Stop TB Partnership and the Korea International Cooperation Agency, the initiative focused on developing and evaluating people-centred approaches to TB care in Viet Nam.
The morning programme highlighted several years of work integrating social and financial protection into TB care delivery, including digital patient support systems, participatory implementation approaches, and the UPLIFT trial. UPLIFT is a Type II hybrid effectiveness–implementation randomized controlled trial evaluating a psycho-socioeconomic support package combining conditional cash transfers with peer-led TB Clubs for people receiving TB treatment in Viet Nam. The study protocol was published on the same day as the meeting. The event also marked the conclusion of the ASPECT project (2022–2026), funded by the Swedish Research Council.
In the afternoon, collaborators launched the SPECTRUM project, also funded by the Swedish Research Council for 2025-2030 and led by Prof. Salla Atkins. The project will continue following a subset of the UPLIFT trial cohort to examine the long-term health, social, and economic consequences of TB and post-TB lung disease.
Researchers from Karolinska Institutet participating in the meetings included Senior Lecturer Kristi Sidney Annerstedt and doctoral student Teresa Santos from CoNPA, Research Specialist Salla Atkins and doctoral students Luan Vo, and Andrew Codlin from the Global Child Health & SDGs group, affiliated researcher Rachel Forse from IMPAQT, and Han Nguyen from the Global Infections Research Group at the Department of Medicine.
A short documentary produced as part of RTC captured the experiences of participants and partners involved in implementation across Viet Nam. Watch it on YouTube.