Venue: Stellenbosch University Biomedical Research Institute, Cape Town, South Africa
Attendees: Project Manager, Clinical Research Teams, and CAB members
A recap of the CAGE-TB study was presented to remind attendees of the study’s specific aims, objectives, ongoing recruitment, and recent milestones. Phase 1 recruitment has been completed in South Africa, while Phase 2 recruitment is ongoing in South Africa and Uganda. The presentation also covered the use-case scenario for the smartphone application, highlighting the evolution of the app from the initial iterations, the feedback received, and the current version that will be taken into the field later this year. The discussion emphasized the importance of community engagement, including spreading awareness about the study, promoting the app’s role in improving TB classification, reassuring participants that the app only listens to coughs and collects no private information, and ensuring inclusiveness so that CAGE-TB is accessible to everyone. Attendees were encouraged to provide feedback on how the app could be improved, foster honest conversations about TB to reduce fear, stigma, and misinformation, and support the study as local champions by helping explain it in their own words to the communities.