178096 Best Practices in a Latent Tuberculosis Infection Program

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 11:10 AM

Anne Belcher, PhD RN , School of Nursing, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
Jaclyn Branham, BSN , 4-Medicine, Indiana University Hospital, Indianapolis, IN
Megan Levett, BSN , Organ Transplant Unit, Indiana University Hospital - Clarian Health Partners, Indianapolis, IN
Gregory L. Paddock, BSN , Palliative Care - Yellow Rose Unit, Methodist Hospital - Clarian Health Partners, Indianapolis, IN
Mary Zonca, BSN , Unit 3 A, Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IN
Jennifer Anderson, BSN , Community Health Network, Community Hospital North, Indianapolis, IN
Loretta Conner, BSN , Northwest District Health Office, Marion County Health Department, Indianapolis, IN
     
Best Practices in a Latent Tuberculosis Infection Program addresses the challenges presented to local health departments and public health nurses in completing required latent tuberculosis, (LTBI) follow up in population groups. A service learning partnership between the local health department and a Midwestern university school of nursing resulted in the development of a program that completed LTBI contacts with 193 subjects. Populations served by the program included immigrants to the community and workers from several occupational settings. Outcome data from the project will be presented, including recommendations for standardizing the management of the information data base for local health department LTBI follow up. Nursing students gained an appreciation for the complexities involved in TB surveillance, and improved their cultural competence in the interface with Latino, African, and East European immigrant populations. Students gained first -hand experience with the current health care system, which resulted in communication challenges between health care providers and economic barriers to compliance with the CDC protocol for LTBI follow up. The program demonstrated a successful partnership between service and education with positive results for the LTBI clients and the local health department nurses.

Learning Objectives:
The learner will: Discuss best practices with respect to latent tuberculosis infection follow- up in immigrant and underserved populations. Describe the service learning partnership between public health nurses and nursing students to improve surveillance and compliance outcomes with the latent tuberculosis infection follow-up. Contrast strategies to increase efficiencies in data collection for clients needing latent tuberculosis infection follow up. Discuss the cultural context of latent tuberculosis follow up in an urban public health setting.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, Public Health Nursing, Outcomes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have no financial connection to the agency in which the project was conducted. There were no commercial products involved and I have no financial interest in outcomes of the work being proposed for presentation. I have worked with TB patients in my professional nursing career.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Public Health: Tuberculosis-Critical Concerns
See more of: Public Health Nursing