Takeaways from the 2022 National Tuberculosis Controllers Association Conference

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The last two-plus years have been challenging for all of us, particularly for public health departments already stretched thin. At this year’s National Tuberculosis Controllers Association conference, public health professionals convened to share best practices for controlling and managing tuberculosis (TB) in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the gold sponsor of the conference, emocha Health presented the advantages of video directly observed therapy for TB control by helping public health departments conserve precious time and resources.

Three key takeaways from the conference:

• Over the last year, TB cases in the U.S. have been rising.‍

Reasons for the increase could include fewer diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic and an influx of foreign-born refugees in the U.S. Regardless of the reason, public health departments must remain persistent in their efforts to reduce transmission.

• TB funding needs a renewed focus.

The pandemic continues to have a challenging impact on TB patients, and there are concerns around dwindling pandemic-related funding for virtual monitoring. Therefore, there is a need to secure additional funding to continue to support patients.

• Video directly observed therapy has proven results in the fight to control tuberculosis.

Public health budgets are overstrained, and TB nurses need to constantly innovate by adapting to new tools and fluctuations in available resources. With the help of video directly observed therapy, public health departments can monitor medication adherence while saving time, money, and resources.

One of the biggest highlights of every NCTA conference is seeing our invaluable public health partners receive recognition for their tireless work. This year, we’re proud to highlight three partner health departments who received awards for their emocha-supported success in TB control:

• Chima Mbakwem, the TB Control Program Manager at the Guam Department of Public Health, received the TB Controller of the Year Award. During his acceptance speech, Mr. Mbakwem invited our Head of Strategic Partnerships and Co-Founder, Morad Elmi, on stage to spotlight emocha’s influence on the success of the Guam Department of Public Health’s TB control measures.
• The amazing nurses from the Long Beach Department of Health received the Carol Pozsik Nurse of the Year Award.
• Dr. Jon Warkentin, the TB Control Program Officer at the Tennessee Department of Health, received the William Stead TB Clinician Award.

We are already looking forward to the next conference and can’t wait to see more of our partners on stage next year!

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