Interviewing and Communication Course | Web-Based
Self-Study Modules | Preparedness Workshop
in Tanzania | MDR TB in the Baltics
TB Interviewing
and Communication Course
Health departments and health care providers have
inquired about the availability of a course on communication skills
for conducting contact investigations and patient education. In
the past, DTBE conducted a TB Interviewing and Communication course.
This course contained many elements from the original Interviewing,
Investigating, and Influencing course, including instruction in
effective communication skills for interviewing TB patients and
following up on contacts. The TB Interviewing and Communication
course has not been conducted since October 1994.
In order to meet the recent demands, the TB Interviewing
and Communication course will be revised to include recent patient-provider
communication strategies, as well as strategies for doing contact
investigations, providing patient education, and dealing with
special populations. The course will provide education and training
materials for TB workers and supervisors responsible for patient
education, contact investigation, directly observed therapy, and
other outreach services in the clinic or field.
The revision of the course will be based on (1)
focus group interviews with persons who have taken and taught
the current version of the course; (2) reviews of the following
training materials and studies:
-
The Effective TB Interview Course I;
-
The Effective TB Interview Course II;
-
The content from the Contact Investigation and
Adherence supplemental self-study modules (being developed);
-
The preliminary findings from the study on "Exploring
Patient-Provider Communication during Contact Investigation,"
conducted by the Research and Evaluation Branch (REB) Prevention
Effectiveness Section (PES); from the study on "Outcomes
of TB Contact Investigation," also conducted by REB/PES;
and from the Surveillance and Epidemiology Branch (SEB) study
on "Evaluation of Contact Investigations of TB Cases";
-
The findings from the "Atlanta TB Patient
Education Project" on cultivating patient engagement
skills;
-
The NJ Model Center’s standardized patient
approach to teaching interviewing techniques to medical students;
-
Contact investigation training courses developed
by local TB programs, e.g., NYC and Texas; and
-
Communications/interviewing techniques taught
in the CDC’s STD course and in the HIV Counseling and
Testing course.
Pilot testing of this new course will begin in late
1999 or early 2000.
—Reported by Maria Fraire, MPH, CHES
Division of TB Elimination
Interviewing
and Communication Course | Web-Based Self-Study Modules |
Preparedness Workshop in Tanzania | MDR TB
in the Baltics
Web-Based Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis
The Web-based version of the Self-Study Modules
on Tuberculosis is an interactive TB training course for health
care workers that provides a base level of TB knowledge accessible
world-wide through the Internet. The Web-based course builds upon
existing products: the print-based Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis
and the Satellite Primer on Tuberculosis. The Web-based Self-Study
Modules on Tuberculosis course was developed to maintain consistency
with past media (print-based and satellite products) while incorporating
enhancements that lend themselves to Web-based instruction including:
1) interactive animations; 2) multicolored graphics and figures;
3) interactive study questions and case studies; 4) hypertext
links between the modules and to other TB resources; and 5) on-line
continuing education. The Web-based Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis
course has several additional benefits:
-
Provides an innovative approach to TB education
and training
-
Provides far-reaching potential as access to
Web-based training (WBT) increases
-
Provides access to new target audiences as management
of TB shifts to nontraditional providers outside of health
departments, such as managed care staff and private physicians,
as well as nursing and medical students.
-
Allows quick access to TB education and training
materials for geographically diverse and isolated populations
with access to the World Wide Web. With increasing commitments
to address the global TB problem, accessibility and distribution
of TB training materials through the Internet will take on
increased significance.
The final version of the course was released in
June 1999. Participants can earn 24 continuing nursing education
contact hours (CNEs) or 2.0 continuing education units (CEUs)
through the on-line continuing education component of the course.
The Web address for the Web-based Self-Study Modules on Tuberculosis
course is as follows:
http://www.cdc.gov/phtn/tbmodules
—Reported by Nickolas DeLuca
Division of TB Elimination
Interviewing
and Communication Course | Web-Based
Self-Study Modules | Preparedness Workshop in Tanzania | MDR TB
in the Baltics
NCHSTP Collaborates with NCID and CARE
for a Regional Prevention Through Preparedness Workshop
in Tanzania
TB accounts for nearly one fourth of all preventable
adult deaths in developing countries, and Africa has one of the
highest infectious pulmonary TB rates in the world. The impact
of TB can be lessened by teaching prevention and control strategies
to health professionals.
As part of the CARE-CDC Health Initiative (CCHI),
scientists and health educators from the National Center for HIV,
STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP) and the National Center for Infectious
Diseases (NCID) conducted a workshop for 16 people consisting
of CARE staff members, district medical officers, and ministry
of health representatives from seven Anglophone African countries.
The workshop, entitled Prevention through Preparedness, was held
February 8 - 13, 1999, in Mwanza, the United Republic of Tanzania,
with the assistance of local facilitators. It focused on building
the capacity of health professionals in epidemic preparedness,
infection control of viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), and prevention
and control of cholera and TB. The CDC team included Sherif Zaki,
Infectious Disease Pathology Activity, NCID; Rob Quick, Foodborne
and Diarrheal Diseases Branch, NCID; Kathy Cavallaro, Amy Corneli,
and Helen Perry, Special Pathogens Branch, NCID; and Eugene McCray,
Surveillance and Epidemiology Branch, DTBE, NCHSTP, and Rose Pray,
Communications and Education Branch, DTBE, NCHSTP.
During the TB portion of the workshop, participants
learned about the global TB situation, TB transmission and pathogenesis,
diagnosis and treatment, and practical techniques to reduce the
risk of TB transmission within African health facilities. The
workshop facilitators used case studies, discussion sessions,
and site visits to reinforce classroom presentations of the TB
topics.
Workshop participants also learned how to suspect
a case of VHF, use locally-available supplies for limiting disease
transmission in a health facility, manage VHF outbreaks, and use
data more effectively in recognizing and responding to epidemics
of cholera to prevent unnecessary morbidity and to reduce mortality.
—Reported by Rose Pray, RN, MS
Division of TB Elimination
Interviewing and Communication
Course | Web-Based Self-Study Modules
| Preparedness Workshop in Tanzania |
MDR TB in the Baltics
Training Course on Multidrug-Resistant
TB in the Baltics
To address the problem of multidrug-resistant TB
(MDR TB) in Russia and the Baltic states, a pilot training course
was conducted in Tartu, Estonia, March 15-17, 1999. Physicians,
laboratory directors, and health care administrators from Russia,
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania attended the course held in the
TB hospital in Tartu.
Because some participants did not speak English,
and some of the instructors did not speak Russian, simultaneous
translation (Russian/English) of presentations and questions and
answers was provided. Faculty for the course included Drs. Michael
Iseman of the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory
Medicine; Sven Hoffner of the Swedish Institute for Infectious
Disease Control; Richard Zaleskis, World Health Organization;
and Peter Cegielski, Nancy Binkin, and Wanda Walton of DTBE.
Course topics related to MDR TB included diagnosis,
laboratory testing, evolution of MDR TB, medication, surgery,
case management, infection control, and adherence. Class participants
also presented cases for discussion with faculty and other class
members.
At the end of the course, participants were asked
to complete evaluation forms regarding the benefit of each subject
covered, as well as their suggestions for changes, other topics
to add to the course, and what they planned to do differently
in their own program as a result of attending the course. In regard
to what participants planned to do differently, responses included
plans to change treatment regimens, to change the management of
MDR TB patients; to increase the use of DOT; to collect data on
MDR TB patients; and to share course information with colleagues.
Comments also indicated that the course was beneficial to all
attendees.
Follow-up plans include the revision of course materials
based on both faculty and participant comments. Materials (including
translated materials) will be made available to other health care
providers for duplication of the course.
—Reported by Wanda Walton, M.Ed.
Division of TB Elimination
