Improving tuberculosis infection control practices: A web-based community for professionals

This presentation will introduce GHDonline.org, a sophisticated yet simple-to-use web-based tool developed by experts from Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Partners In Health. We will demonstrate how more than 500 professionals representing a variety of organizations have created a vibrant virtual collaboration space where they share best practices and address challenges in real-time to control the transmission of Tuberculosis. The landmark feature of GHDonline is “Communities of Practice”: online forums organized around key topics in health care delivery and guided by expert moderators. Tailored to the needs of TB IC practitioners, the community (http://www.ghdonline.org/ic) is led by Drs. Edward Nardell, Pulmonologist and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Paul Jensen, Engineer Director, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Grigory Volchenkov, Head Doctor, Vladimir Oblast Tuberculosis Dispensary in Tomsk, Russia. The purpose of the community is to disseminate and improve TB transmission and infection control practices, with specific attention to administrative and engineering control mechanisms, facility design, recommended manufacturers and suppliers, and personal respiratory protection. Our innovative platform allows members to begin discussions or participate in existing discussions; publish resources (i.e., documents and website links); and seamlessly contribute to, and receive notifications from, the community via e-mail. Several in-depth discussions have yielded results and impacted practices in the field, from outlining a new protocol for outdoor sputum induction, to sharing recommendations for using germicidal lamps, measuring the efficiency of Ultra Violet Germicidal Irradiation, or ensuring the protection of health care workers with N95 respirators and masks.