Understanding the role of gender in trichiasis case finding in Tanzania

• To look at what social, programmatic and motivational factors are resulting in female trichiasis (TT) case finders being more productive and effective than male case finders, or vice versa

Overall research question:

What are the factors (social, programmatic, motivational etc.) that result in female (or male) case finders being more productive and effective than male (or female) case finders?

Specific objectives:

• To determine the productivity and effectiveness of male vs female TT case finders in terms of [a] population covered and examined, [b] number of suspected TT cases identified and [c] proportion of suspected TT cases confirmed as true TT cases
• To understand better, through qualitative methods, the range of factors that may explain gender differences across TT case finding productivity indicators, including how gender-related factors are associated with different case finding approaches/strategies
• To present the study findings to donors and implementing partners before the end of 2021 to provide guidance on how to integrate gender considerations during the design and implementation phases of TT campaigns in Tanzania

To optimise the effectiveness and efficiency of TT case finding across all endemic districts we need to better understand the factors that contribute to successful case finding campaigns. An evaluation of our monitoring data has shown that in all countries female case finders identified more suspected cases compared to male case finders—overall the difference was almost two-fold with female case finders identifying, on average five suspected cases and male case finders identifying two suspected cases.

This study will utilise mixed methods to explore how gender plays a role in case finding, from the identification of cases in the community, through to support to access the surgery and follow-up/aftercare. The study will include areas with migratory populations where case finding activities are often more challenging, uptake is generally lower, and women have less access to surgery than men.