Getting Evidence into Practice winner's showcase

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The large number of entries from around the globe this year for this award  indicates the importance placed on successful implementation of good evidence. The judges looked for projects with a strong evidence base – both in terms of the rigour of the original research and in the approach taken to achieve change in practice. They also looked for a clear and long-term impact on patient outcomes.

Dr Richard Feinmann, Tuberculosis Project, International Hospital Kampala, Uganda

Dr Feinmann and his team at the International Hospital in Kampala in Uganda, sought to implement a microscopic observed technique (MOT), a low cost test for diagnosing tuberculosis following the results of a cross sectional observational study in Uganda. Dr Feinmann’s team trained over 100 volunteer Ugandan clinicians to use MOT and administer directly observed treatment. So far, 464 patients have been screened and 123 have been diagnosed and successfully treated. The use of this low cost diagnostic tool has helped a poor region with a high tuberculosis burden and greatly improved the local infrastructure for providing healthcare.

Dr Feinmann said:

 "This award is for all the ugandan volunteer workers and village health workers who worked so hard with us to improve the lot of their community.  In a land where this is so much unemployment and pitiful wages this a completely different 'Big Society'."