Nune Truzyan (AUA MPH 2003) is the Lead Author of the Article on Working Migrants and TB in Armenia
AUA School of Public Health researchers and faculty members Nune Truzyan (MPH 2003), Byron Crape, Ruzanna Grigoryan (MPH 2007), Hripsime Martirosyan (MPH 2005), and Varduhi Petrosyan published an article entitled “Increased risk for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in migratory workers, Armenia” in the March 2015 issue of the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, an official journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/3/14-0474_article). The journal is ranked 3rd of 70 infectious disease journals (ISI Citation Reports) and 1st of top 20 publications in Epidemiology (Google Scholar h-Index).
The article focuses on evaluating TB treatment outcomes and understanding utilization of tuberculosis services for migrant laborers, evaluating how characteristics of migrant laborers influence utilization of TB services in both the host country-of-work and the country of origin. It was a cross-sectional census of 95 migratory laborers who were diagnosed with tuberculosis and worked in other countries over the last four years. The research team collected the data through medical record reviews and face to face interviews.
The authors concluded “among migrant workers with a diagnosis of TB, migratory work was associated with higher rates of MDR TB and HIV co-infection, which suggested that migratory work may provide impetus for spread of HIV infection and TB. Treatment for TB that started in the host country of work was usually interrupted because migrant workers wanted to return to Armenia. Some of these workers did not resume treatment for TB in Armenia. Those migrant workers with TB who experienced treatment delays, dropped out of therapy, or had therapy interrupted were likely to increase the period of infectivity and spread TB to other persons.”
The authors suggest that the study could be “an example for further large-scale projects worldwide, especially in the Commonwealth of Independent States region to explore the correlation between migrant labor and TB.”
Anonymous reviewers of the article wrote “paper does use some innovative approaches in data collection” and “could fill knowledge gap in what we know about migratory labor.”
This research was possible thanks to the first grant the AUA School of Public Health received from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia (grant RA MOHG SPSPC-11/3-1), and it was implemented with support from the National TB Control Center and Global Fund Program Coordination Team of the Ministry of Health.
The AUA School of Public Health works actively to improve the health of the populace and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of public health professionals and others to be leaders in public health, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.