Outreach Workers

As a member of the Stop TB Partnership, the Health and Development Networks moderated a six-month discussion on the Stop TB eForum on key roles and needs of front-line health workers in stopping tuberculosis. This publication describes key findings and recommendations from the discussions on the crucial role front-line health workers play in TB control.

This report, from the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association and CDC, is an update of the American Thoracic Society guidelines on the investigation, diagnostic evaluation, and medical treatment of TB contacts published in 1976. These revised guidelines provide recommendations concerning investigation of TB exposure and transmission and prevention of future cases of TB through contact investigation.

The Effective TB Interviewing for Contact Investigations Materials include a Faciltator-Led Training Guide, Self-Study Modules, and a Video. These materials are designed to teach successful interviewing strategies to health care workers who are responsible for conducting TB interviews with patients as part of contact investigations. The materials can be used together or on their own. Each material has to be ordered separately from the CDC website order form.

The Effective TB Interviewing for Contact Investigations Materials include a Facilitator-Led Training Guide, Self-Study Modules, and a Video. The materials can be used together or on their own. Each material has to be ordered separately from the CDC website order form. The Self-Study Modules are a series of 4 modules, including an overview of the TB interview for contact investigations, basics of communication and patient education, cultural competency, and special interview circumstances.

The Self-Study Modules, 1-5 is part of a series of educational modules designed to provide information about TB in a self-study format. This slide set was developed as an accompaniment to the print-based Self-Study Modules, 1-5 to aid in the presentation of module content for a facilitator-led training. The facilitator guide provides guidance and tips for leading a training using the Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis, 1-5 Slide Sets.

The Southeastern National Tuberculosis Center in collaboration with the Lung Health Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham developed TB-specific cultural competency guides. These guides have been adapted into a series of “quick reference guides.” There are quick reference guides for the countries that have accounted for more than 60% of the TB cases among foreign-born persons over the past five years: Mexico, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, China, Guatemala, and Haiti.

TB 101 para trabajadores de la salud is designed to educate Spanish-speaking health care workers about basic concepts related to TB prevention and control in the United States. The target audience for the course includes newly hired TB program staff and health care workers in areas related to TB (such as individuals who work in correctional facilities or HIV/AIDS clinics).

This video provides information on how to administer directly observe therapy (DOT).

These modules are designed for health care workers and provide TB programmatic information. Module 6 provides information on managing patients and improving adherence. Module 8 provides information on conducting TB contact investigations.

This toolkit provides background information on video directly observed therapy (VDOT) as well as example templates to be adapted for local implementation of VDOT.