Utilization of Digital Mapping to Help Community Nurses Identify and Improve the Success of Tuberculosis Treatment Among School-Age Children in Central Papua, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health challenge among school-age children in high-burden settings. Delayed case detection and incomplete contact investigation contribute to ongoing transmission. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Geographic Information System (GIS)-based digital mapping for early identification of school-age TB patients and improved tuberculosis control outcomes in Central Papua, Indonesia.
Methods: A retrospective comparative cohort study was conducted using routine TB programme records from Nabire Regency between January and December 2025. The study included 259 patients aged 6–15 years, comprising 66 in the digital-mapping cohort and 193 in the comparison cohort. Descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used for analysis.
Results: Contact investigation was documented significantly more frequently in the digital-mapping cohort than in the comparison cohort (24.2% vs. 11.9%; OR=2.37, 95% CI:1.16–4.82; p=0.027). Standard treatment exceeded 96% in both cohorts (p=0.682). Among patients with documented outcomes, treatment success was 87.1% in the digital-mapping cohort and 84.3% in the comparison cohort (p=1.000), while loss to follow-up was lower (9.7% vs. 13.5%; p=0.757).
Conclusions: GIS-based digital mapping significantly strengthened contact investigation and improved operational surveillance of school-age TB patients. Although treatment outcomes were comparable between cohorts, digital mapping demonstrated substantial value for patient localisation, case monitoring, and targeted public health interventions in geographically challenging settings, supporting its integration into routine tuberculosis control programmes.