Tuberculosis elimination and laboratory cooperative agreement - the arizona department of health services' (adhs) tuberculosis control program (the department) collaborates with fifteen local health…

Tuberculosis elimination and laboratory cooperative agreement - the arizona department of health services' (adhs) tuberculosis control program (the department) collaborates with fifteen local health departments (lhds), 21 tribal public health departments, and public and private health facilities and providers in support of tuberculosis (TB) control and prevention activities. Direct patient care and case management for active TB disease is provided by lhds while the department is responsible for overall management of TB control activities, including providing consultation, technical assistance, education, training, and epidemiological support. In 2023 the department received reports of 202 cases of active, countable TB, marking the first time since 2012 that the number of cases exceeded 200. Over the next five years, the department will employ the following strategies to increase completion of treatment, increase evaluation of contacts, immigrants, and refugees, and decrease case rates. The department will facilitate linkage to resources, provide funding to help support high-incidence lhds, and provide technical assistance as requested in order to support diagnosis and treatment of persons with TB disease. By fostering strong relationships with major incidence lhds, the department will ensure accurate case data is submitted in a timely manner. The department will also work with lhds to improve reporting of contact investigations and outcome data for infectious TB cases and will assist lhds in identifying and reporting evaluation and treatment outcomes of immigrants and refugees with TB or latent TB infection (ltbi). The department will also implement targeted testing and treatment for ltbi in high-risk populations. On a yearly basis, the department will conduct a program evaluation to identify areas for improvement related to national objective targets. The nurse coordinator will promote human resource development and partnerships with lhds, key correctional partners, state/federal partners, and TB centers of excellence. In the first year of the project period, the department will engage a TB elimination advisory committee and develop a TB elimination plan to support state, national, and global goals of decreasing overall TB incidence, decreasing TB morbidity and mortality, decreasing TB incidence among high-risk populations, and increasing health equity among high-risk populations.