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Using the National TB Indicators Project to Select a Focus Area for Program Evaluation
The purpose of this tool is to assist state and local public health programs in selecting specific focus areas within their tuberculosis prevention and control program for evaluation and program improvement. Definitions for key terms used in this tool are found at the end of this document.
Overview
- The National TB Indicators Project (NTIP) puts together your jurisdiction’s data in a way that allows easy performance monitoring and assessment of progress in meeting the National TB Program Objectives and Performance Targets.
- Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART) objectives in NTIP can be used as part of your program evaluation plan.
- Published state and city TB reports help you assess if other jurisdictions are obtaining similar percentages for certain TB program indicators.
The NTIP indicator summary report, NTIP indicator report, and NTIP line lists, all of which are available through the NTIP web application, help you identify problem areas, and program evaluation can help you determine why these problems have occurred. With this information, you can develop specific activities for improving your jurisdiction’s TB program performance.
Steps to Help You Identify a Focus Area
The following steps will guide you through the process of using NTIP to identify a TB program evaluation focus area for your evaluation plan. You do not have to complete all steps.
Indicator – measures developed to assess progress toward the National TB Program Objectives
Indicator Cohort – the total number of patients who are eligible to meet the performance objective for an indicator
NTIP (National TB Indicators Project) – a web-based performance-monitoring tool that tracks your jurisdiction’s progress toward national TB program objectives
National TB Program Objective – the long-term expectation for TB program outcomes
National TB Performance Target – the quantitative goal for TB program outcomes
SMART Objective (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) – statements that describe the results you want to achieve and how you will achieve them