The National TB Indicators Project (NTIP) Fact Sheet

What are the national TB Program Objectives?

The National TB Program Objectives reflect national TB prevention and control priorities in the United States. A comprehensive list of the National TB Program Objectives and performance targets is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at https://www.cdc.gov/tb/programs/evaluation/indicators/default.htm

What is the National Tuberculosis Indicators Project (NTIP)?

NTIP is a web-based performance-monitoring tool. Indicators are measures developed to assess program progress toward the National TB Program Objectives agreed upon by CDC and the federally funded TB programs. NTIP provides TB program officials with indicator reports describing their program’s progress based on routine surveillance data collected and reported to the CDC Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE). Using NTIP, CDC consultants and TB program officials prioritize prevention and control activities, as well as program evaluation activities.

Why was NTIP undertaken?

Program evaluation is an essential component of an effective public health program. Since 2005, CDC has included program evaluation as a core requirement of the Tuberculosis Elimination and Laboratory Cooperative Agreement. NTIP was developed to facilitate the use of existing data to help program staff prioritize activities, monitor progress, and focus program improvement efforts.

How does NTIP impact TB control programs?

NTIP uses a standardized method for calculating indicators associated with the national TB program objectives and for tracking program progress across sites and over time. This enables CDC and TB programs to assess the impact of TB control efforts at state and local levels.

How is NTIP integrated into the cooperative agreement reporting process?

The Tuberculosis Elimination and Laboratory Cooperative Agreement uses the national TB program objectives as a framework for monitoring and managing programmatic activities for TB control and prevention. NTIP provides TB programs with reports of their progress on achieving these performance objectives using data collected and reported to CDC through electronic data reporting systems. TB program officials then use NTIP to track and report progress toward achieving national objectives as part of the cooperative agreement reporting requirements (i.e., annual progress reports), as well as toward preparing their applications for continued funding.

CDC consultants monitor individual program progress using NTIP and work with TB program officials and staff to identify areas needing technical assistance and further examination.

How can NTIP assist with program evaluation?

NTIP is a monitoring system using standardized indicators and calculations to track progress toward national TB program objectives. Program evaluation is the systematic examination of programmatic processes to understand factors that have contributed to program outcomes. TB program staff can use NTIP reports to identify areas for further examination using program evaluation methodologies. Findings from program evaluation studies can then be used to formulate strategies to improve program practices.

Who has access to NTIP? What do TB program staff need to do to use this system?

Access to NTIP is granted to state and local TB program staff by the designated TB system administrator(s) for their programs. Program staff can only be granted access to NTIP data for the programs or jurisdictions they work in. Staff who need access to NTIP should contact their program TB System Administrator and the CDC’s DTBE Technical Support Helpdesk via DTBESupport@cdc.gov for assistance.

NTIP reports are also available for some program areas that are not direct recipients of TB cooperative agreement funding. State program officials may request the development of additional reports for monitoring and working with their local jurisdictions.

What are the data sources for NTIP?

NTIP uses routine data reported to CDC via the Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis (RVCT), the Aggregate Reports for Tuberculosis Program Evaluation (ARPE) on contacts of TB cases, the Electronic Disease Notification (EDN) system for the follow-up examination of immigrants and refugees with a B notification, and the TB Genotyping Information System (TB GIMS), as well as population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

How often are data updated?

NTIP is updated daily with data submitted to and received by CDC. This dynamic system allows program staff to generate reports using the most up-to-date data. Reports can also be generated using data frozen at the end of each year. Data generated using frozen data correspond to those reported in the CDC Annual TB Surveillance Report.

Program staff members are encouraged to review NTIP data for their program on a routine basis to ensure data submitted to CDC are accurate and complete. Individual case data are available to program staff for cross matching and validation with local registries.

How can NTIP help with the Aggregate Reports for Tuberculosis Program Evaluation (ARPE)?

The NTIP system hosts the electronic data entry and reporting of outcomes for TB contact investigations collected in the Aggregate Reports for Tuberculosis Program Evaluation (ARPE). State and local TB program staff should use NTIP to submit ARPE reports to CDC. Staff who need access to the ARPE functionality in NTIP should contact their program TB System Administrator and the CDC’s DTBE Technical Support Helpdesk via DTBESupport@cdc.gov for assistance.

What training or support is currently available on NTIP?

CDC staff are available to assist in using and interpreting NTIP reports. Technical assistance for accessing and navigating the NTIP system and understanding and resolving data questions is also provided by CDC’s DTBE Technical Support Helpdesk by emailing DTBESupport@cdc.gov. Additionally, training on NTIP for new program management staff is available through the CDC TB Program Managers’ Course.