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TB Challenge: Partnering to Eliminate TB
in African Americans
This is an archived document. The links
and content are no longer being updated.
Summer 2006
Stop
TB in the African-American Community Summit Draws More Than 100
Nickolas DeLuca, PhD (CDC), Rachel Royce, PhD (RTI International),
and Charles Wallace, PhD (Texas Department of State Health Services)
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Dr. Benny Primm, Executive Director, Addiction Research and
Treatment Corporation-Urban Resource Institute and other
attendees at the 2006 Stop TB in the African-American
Community Summit |
More than 100 individuals from myriad
organizations gathered in Atlanta to participate in the "Stop TB in
the African-American Community" summit, which took place May 16-17,
2006, at CDC's new Tom Harkin Global Communications Center. The
participants met to discuss the nature of this public health
problem, exchange strategies, and identify ways to help address
tuberculosis (TB) in the African-American community. The summit was
sponsored by CDC's Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE) and
RTI International. The purpose of the summit was to
- raise awareness about the problem of TB in
the African-American community, and
- create links and build networks that will
lead to ongoing activities and strategies to decrease TB in this
community.
In 2005, CDC provisionally reported 3,927 TB
cases in non-Hispanic blacks, 28% of all persons reported with TB
nationally. The proportion of cases in black, non-Hispanic persons
is even greater if only U.S.-born persons reported with TB are
examined. In 2005, 45% of TB cases reported in U.S.-born persons
were among non-Hispanic blacks. Also in 2005, the TB case rate for
this population was more than eight times higher than the rate in
white, non-Hispanic persons.
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Dr. Louis Sullivan |
Dr. Ken
Castro & Dr. Kevin Fenton |
Dr. Garth Graham |
The summit included keynote addresses from Dr.
Louis Sullivan, President Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine and
former Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS); and Dr. Garth
Graham, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Office of
Minority Health, HHS. CDC leaders also addressed the group,
including Yvonne Lewis of the Office of Minority Health and Health
Disparities; Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director of the National Center for
HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (proposed); and
Dr. Kenneth Castro, Director of DTBE.
Summit participants learned about
state-of-the-art research and interventions addressing TB in the
African-American community, and learned directly from a panel of
patients about their experience having TB. The majority of the
summit was devoted to participants working in small groups to
strategize actions that their organizations may be able to implement
to help eliminate TB in the African-American community. Participants
included community and religious leaders, health care providers,
public health leaders, policy and decision makers, state and local
health department staff, communications professionals, academicians,
and others.
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Breakout session with conference participants |
The results of the group work yielded a
compilation of specific goals and action items that summit
participants committed to trying to achieve in the next year. A
summary of all of the identified action items is forthcoming. Summit
participants will maintain communication throughout the next year
and measure progress towards implementing the action items.
Although modern medicine can prevent and cure
TB, only the concerted efforts of the community in partnership with
public health and medicine will ensure that TB is eliminated from
the African-American community. These partnerships, fostered by the
summit, are a key component to mobilizing support for TB elimination
as outlined in the 2000 Institute of Medicine's Report, Ending
Neglect: The Elimination of Tuberculosis in the United States.
About the authors
Nickolas DeLuca, PhD, is chief of the
Education, Training, and Behavioral Studies Team in the Division of
Tuberculosis Elimination, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral
Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (proposed), and Rachel A. Royce,
PhD, MPH, is a Senior Research Epidemiologist with RTI
International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Charles
Wallace, PhD, MPH, is a TB Manager in the Infectious Disease
Intervention and Control Branch, Texas Department of State Health
Services. You can contact Dr. DeLuca at
ncd4@cdc.gov or 404-639-8988; or Dr. Royce at
rroyce@rti.org or
919-732-5974; or Dr. Wallace at charles.wallace@dshs. state.tx.us
or 512-458-7447.
Last Reviewed: 05/18/2008 Content Source: Division of Tuberculosis Elimination
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
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