ArticlePLOS global public health2026
A formative evaluation of the TB Think Tank's role and influence on TB policy in South Africa.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of death globally, despite being both preventable and treatable. South Africa continues to experience a high burden, with an estimated 56,000 TB-related deaths recorded in 2023. In response to this public health crisis, the TB Think Tank (TB TT) was established in 2014 to strengthen the government's programmatic response to TB. This formative evaluation examines the activities, processes, and outputs through which the TB TT has influenced TB policy between 2021 and 2024, identifies areas for improvement, and provides actionable recommendations to enhance its impact. To conceptualise the TB TT as a Knowledge Translation Platform, Bennett and Jessani's (2011) framework was applied, focusing on knowledge generation, dialogue, and capacity building. Data were collected through 14 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, a survey of 65 TB TT members conducted between June and July 2024, document review, and observational data to provide contextual insight; survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings indicate that the TB TT has played a significant role in shaping South Africa's TB response, with 97% of survey respondents affirming its effectiveness in advising the National Department of Health on policy. Key strengths include diverse membership, strong leadership, and alignment with national priorities, which have supported influential outputs such as the TB Strategic Plan 2023-2028. However, several challenges persist, including delays in the approval of recommendations, underrepresentation of key stakeholders such as district and provincial practitioners and other government sectors, limited monitoring mechanisms, and broader systemic constraints such as bureaucratic processes, competing priorities, and data access issues. Overall, the TB TT has made a substantial contribution to South Africa's public health landscape and remains well positioned to advance the national TB agenda by strengthening evidence-informed decision-making and promoting equitable care.
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.