With the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings already underway, the International Group of Hotels (IGH) Network are considering guest health a priority.
Over 200 staff from various hotels joined the Businesses for Health: Tuberculosis Project, in a town hall national effort to reduce the impact of TB in private sector workplaces.
This workshop meeting was kicked off with icebreakers consisting of TB learning games with B4H: TB.
Participants were asked trivia questions about they would react if they a colleague had TB, is it safe working alongside someone with latent TB?, the rights of staff living with HIV being protected? And of HIV the same as TB when it comes to treatment?
Answers to these questions were addressed in a fun game designed by B4H: TB to show how TB is spread, the size of the TB problem in PNG, and that some people are more vulnerable to TB disease.
Dr Ann Clarke, Project Manager for B4H: TB, emphasised that although the games for learning about TB were fun, some of the concepts around TB testing, treatment, adherence and support are complex issues that require training and a program of regular learning activities in every workplace.
“The size of the epidemic and emergence of cases drug resistant TB in the NCD requires a consistent program of train and behaviour change activities. Our easy to follow ‘Cover your cough’ campaign is just the start of every workplace’s TB program,” says Dr Clark.
“The ‘Cover your cough’ campaign simply means that every time we sneeze or cough, we must cover our mouth and nose. This is one way of preventing the spread of the TB organism: mycobacterium tuberculosis, or any other airborne infection."