1. Civil Surgeon Tuberculosis Evaluations for Foreign-Born Persons Seeking Permanent U.S. Residence
- Author
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Kathleen Moser, Mark N. Lobato, Jennifer Cochran, Andrew Tibbs, Miguel Escobedo, Lynn E. Sosa, Phil Lowenthal, Alfonso Rodriguez-Lainz, Andrew Thornton, Sharon Sharnprapai, and Kelley Bemis
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Internationality ,Tuberculosis ,Epidemiology ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Immigration ,Emigrants and Immigrants ,Disease ,California ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Foreign born ,New England ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,medicine ,Humans ,Mass Screening ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Mass screening ,media_common ,Surgeons ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Public health ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Emigration and Immigration ,medicine.disease ,Texas ,United States ,030228 respiratory system ,Family medicine ,Physical therapy ,Female ,Residence ,Guideline Adherence ,Public Health ,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S ,Chest radiograph ,business - Abstract
Foreign-born persons in the United States seeking to adjust their status to permanent resident must undergo screening for tuberculosis (TB) disease. Screening is performed by civil surgeons (CS) following technical instructions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2011 to 2012, 1,369 practicing CS in California, Texas, and New England were surveyed to investigate adherence to the instructions. A descriptive analysis was conducted on 907 (66 %) respondents. Of 907 respondents, 739 (83 %) had read the instructions and 565 (63 %) understood that a chest radiograph is required for status adjustors with TB symptoms; however, only 326 (36 %) knew that a chest radiograph is required for immunosuppressed status adjustors. When suspecting TB disease, 105 (12 %) would neither report nor refer status adjustors to the health department; 91 (10 %) would neither start treatment nor refer for TB infection. Most CS followed aspects of the technical instructions; however, educational opportunities are warranted to ensure positive patient outcomes.
- Published
- 2015