Tuberculosis Epidemiologic Studies Consortium

Purpose

TBESC-III (2021-2026)

The current research cycle (TBESC-III) began in September 2021 and will end in March 2026. The purpose of TBESC-III (Implementing and Evaluating Interventions to Increase Treatment of Latent TB Infection in Primary Care Settings) is to assess the following:

• How is latent TB infection screening, testing, and treatment offered to patients in primary care settings?
• What is the impact of primary care interventions designed to increase the number of eligible patients who complete treatment for latent TB infection?
• What is the estimated value to the healthcare system and society of clinical care-based interventions that improve performance measures across the latent TB infection care cascade?

Past TBESC Cycles

TBESC-II (2011-2021)

TBESC-II focused on strategies and tools to increase diagnosis and treatment of latent TB infection in populations at high risk of TB infection or progression to TB disease.

TBESC-I (2001-2011)

TBESC-I focused on programmatically relevant epidemiologic, behavioral, economic, laboratory, and operational research for TB prevention and control.

Goals

TBESC-III objectives include:

• Identify primary care settings that serve non-U.S.–born persons at elevated risk for TB infection.
• Collect retrospective and prospective electronic medical record data.
• Design and implement primary-care–based interventions to improve performance measures across the latent TB infection care cascade.
• Monitor and evaluate intervention performance over time to identify efficient and effective strategies to prevent TB disease.
• Estimate the potential health and economic impacts of TBESC-III clinical care-based interventions.

What we've accomplished

TBESC-II

TBESC-II conducted three main studies (with six sub-studies) evaluating TB blood and skin tests, describing the latent TB infection care cascade, and identifying latent TB infection care cascade gaps, barriers, and facilitators.

TBESC-I

TBESC-I conducted 29 studies on topics ranging from the molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant TB disease to the cost of TB disease in urban health departments.

Funded partners

The organizations awarded contracts for TBESC-III are:

• Denver Health and Hospital Authority
  • Principal Investigator (PI): Kaylynn Aiona, PhD, MPH;
• Public Health – Seattle & King County
  • PI: Masa Narita, MD;
• The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
  • PI: Priya Shete, MD, MPH; and
• RTI International
  • PI: Carolina Barbosa, PharmD, PhD.