Alaska Tuberculosis Program Manual - Epidemiology - State of Alaska

Initial Assessment
Conduct initial assessments of tuberculosis (TB) patients to gather data that will form the
basis for TB treatment and care. It is essential to gather data to determine the clinical
and social issues and circumstances of relevance to the patient and to assess each
situation objectively to determine the appropriateness of the planned intervention. Many
professionals involved in the patient’s care contribute to the assessment data, and the
case manager gathers assessment data from many sources, including community
agencies, primary care providers, schools, and other healthcare facilities. 12
When the patient with TB is a child, the case manager should involve both
the child and family in the assessment process. 13
See the Diagnosis and Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI)
and Tuberculosis Disease in Children section for more information 9.1.
See the “Alaska TB Program: Timeline for the Case Management of TB
Treatment” (10.5) in this section for more information.
Cultural Sensitivity and Language Issues
In the initial assessment, consider cultural sensitivity and language issues. To improve
the validity and quality of the assessment information, healthcare workers need to be
culturally sensitive in approaching each patient. A medical interpreter may be needed for
patients whose primary language is not English.
For more information on cultural sensitivity, refer to the Participant’s
Workbook for Session 4: “Working with Culturally Diverse Populations” in
DOT Essentials: The DOT Trainer’s Curriculum (Curry International
Tuberculosis Center Web site; 2003) at
http://www.currytbcenter.ucsf.edu/products/product_details.cfm?productI
D=EDP-07 .
A L A S K A T B P R O G R A M M A N U A L Case Management 10. 6
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