Tuberculosis and Homelessness

National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention

Division of Tuberculosis Elimination

Workshop on Tuberculosis and Homelessness:

Infection Control Measures in Homeless Shelters

and Other Overnight Facilities That Provide Shelter

Summary of the Workshop Held September 28–29, 2015

February 16, 2018

Division of Tuberculosis Elimination

National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention

Office of Infectious Diseases

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Atlanta, Georgia
Suggested Citation: National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention 

(NCHHSTP). Workshop on tuberculosis and homelessness: infection control measures in 

homeless shelters and other overnight facilities that provide shelter: summary of the workshop 

held September 28–29, 2015. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Infectious Diseases, NCHHSTP; 2018.

This summary was prepared by the

Tuberculosis and Homelessness Workshop Workgroup,

National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB Prevention

Krista Powell, MD, MPH

Sapna Bamrah Morris, MD, MBA

Sandy Althomsons, MA, MHS

Jonathan Wortham, MD

Maryam Haddad, MSN, MPH

Benjamin Silk, PhD, MPH

Anne Marie France, PhD, MPH

Kristine Schmit, MD, MPH

C. Kay Smith, MEd, Editorial Assistance

Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the 

National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, the Public Health Service, or the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services.

Links to nonfederal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an 

endorsement of these organizations nor their programs by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or 

the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content contained at these sites.

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official 

position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This report was produced and distributed by the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, National 

Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Office of Infectious Diseases, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia. For additional information, please 

contact Kristine Marie Schmit at yxn0@cdc.gov or 404-639-1694.
Office of Health Equity

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Contents

Page

1.0 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 1

1.2 Key Messages Derived from the Workshop ................................................................................ 2

1.2.1 Preventing TB Transmission in Homeless Facilities .......................................................... 2

1.2.2 Primary and Secondary Interventions to Prevent and Reduce Homelessness ................. 2

1.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT .......................................................................... 4

3.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 5

3.1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 6

4.0 PREVENTING TB TRANSMISSION IN HOMELESS FACILITIES ................................................... 8

4.1 Infection Control Measures .......................................................................................................... 8

4.1.1 Administrative Controls and Strategies .............................................................................. 8

4.1.2 Respiratory Controls and Strategies ................................................................................ 13

4.1.3 Environmental Controls and Strategies ........................................................................... 13

4.2 TB Contact Investigations Involving Persons Experiencing Homelessness ............................. 13

4.2.1 Barriers to Conducting Contact Investigations in Homeless Facilities ............................. 14

4.2.2 Strategies for Conducting Contact Investigations in Homeless Facilities ........................ 15

4.3 Addressing Stigma .................................................................................................................... 15

4.3.1 Strategies for Addressing Stigma .................................................................................... 15

4.4 Establishing Partnerships for Addressing TB Control Among Persons

Experiencing Homelessness ..................................................................................................... 16

4.4.1 Barriers to Establishing Partnerships ............................................................................... 16

4.4.2 Strategies for Establishing Partnerships .......................................................................... 16

4.5 Data Management ..................................................................................................................... 17

4.5.1 Health Department TB Control Programs ........................................................................ 18

4.5.2 Overnight Homeless Facilities — Electronic Registration or Bed Maps .......................... 18

4.5.3 Homeless Management Information System ................................................................... 18

4.5.4 Barriers to Establishing Electronic Data Systems ............................................................ 19

4.5.5 Strategies for Establishing Electronic Data Systems ....................................................... 19

5.0 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY INTERVENTIONS FOR PREVENTING

AND REDUCING HOMELESSNESS .............................................................................................. 21

5.1 Addressing Homelessness as a Public Health Problem ........................................................... 21

5.2 Housing Resources ................................................................................................................... 22

5.2.1 HUD Programs ................................................................................................................. 22

5.2.2 Housing First and Housing Support Interventions ........................................................... 23

5.2.3 Barriers to Housing TB Patients ....................................................................................... 23

5.2.4 Strategies for Housing TB Patients .................................................................................. 24
Office of Health Equity

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6.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 25

7.0 APPENDIX A: WORKSHOP AGENDA ........................................................................................... 28

8.0 APPENDIX B: WORKSHOP ATTENDEES, PRESENTERS, AND PLANNERS,

SEPTEMBER 28–29, 2015 ............................................................................................................. 32
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1.0 SUMMARY

1.1 Background

Approximately 1% of the population of the United States experiences homelessness every year. 

Although the majority of persons experiencing homelessness reestablish housing within 1 year, 

on any given night, approximately 550,000 persons in the United States are without a permanent 

home. Persons experiencing homelessness have higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and they 

have dramatically lower life expectancy. Mortality rates among persons experiencing 

homelessness are substantially higher than among the general population. Factors contributing to 

these higher rates of premature death include inadequate or interrupted access to medical care, 

crowded living conditions, mental illness, substance use, and chronic diseases, including diabetes 

mellitus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. These risk factors can increase 

both the likelihood of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and suffering from tuberculosis 

(TB) disease. An association between homelessness and TB has been recognized for decades. 

Approximately 5% of persons with TB reported having been homeless within the year before 

diagnosis, and this proportion has remained similar despite decreases in overall TB rates. During 

recent years, public health authorities have focused on TB control and prevention among persons 

experiencing homelessness, because many of the largest TB outbreaks have involved such 

persons.

TB outbreaks involving persons experiencing homelessness often involve more cases than other 

outbreak for 2 potential reasons. First, TB diagnoses are often delayed among persons 

experiencing homelessness, leading to longer infectious periods (i.e., time during which a patient 

is contagious). Second, these outbreaks often occur in congregate settings (e.g., homeless 

overnight facilities); these settings are conducive to M. tuberculosis transmission when 

contagious persons share airspace with many persons who have medical and social risk-factors 

for TB disease after becoming infected with M. tuberculosis. Nonetheless, M. tuberculosis

transmission can be interrupted through effective infection control within these congregate 

settings. However, implementation of infection control procedures among homeless facilities in 

the United States is not universal.

To address challenges associated with TB control among persons experiencing homelessness, the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of TB Elimination hosted a workshop on 

TB and homelessness in September 2015. The workshop brought together public health officials, 

staff from homeless facilities, and other stakeholders to understand and discuss barriers to and 

strategies for implementing infection control measures in facilities providing services to 

homeless persons and to highlight resources available to prevent and reduce homelessness.
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1.2 Key Messages Derived from the Workshop

1.2.1 Preventing TB Transmission in Homeless Facilities

• TB control in such congregate settings as homeless facilities depends on effective infection 

control measures that include administrative, respiratory, and environmental controls. 

Administrative controls are foundational for preventing M. tuberculosis transmission in 

homeless facilities.

• Prompt case finding and effective treatment of persons with TB disease are the most 

important measures for preventing the spread of TB. Evaluating symptomatic clients in 

homeless facilities for TB disease facilitates early diagnoses, which are critical for 

interrupting transmission, because effective treatment reduces contagiousness. Thorough 

contact investigations should be conducted for every person with diagnosed TB disease to 

identify additional TB cases and persons with latent TB infection.

• Finding asymptomatic patients with latent TB infection provides opportunities to prevent 

future TB cases by treating persons with latent TB infection which, in turn, also prevents M. 

tuberculosis transmission.

• Treating TB infection and disease among persons experiencing homelessness is complicated 

by such factors as frequent relocation, comorbidities (e.g., mental illness and substance 

abuse), and mistrust of the health care system. Therefore, establishing partnerships among 

key stakeholders is essential for ensuring an effective, coordinated response; fostering these 

relationships before a TB outbreak occurs is imperative.

• Education regarding TB control in homeless facilities should be provided to staff, volunteers, 

and clients at regular intervals. This education should include posters, reading material, 

trainings, and other media that are easily comprehended.

• Systematic approaches for collection, organization, analysis, and dissemination of data are 

foundational for managing TB control and prevention activities. Optimal data management 

requires efforts from all stakeholders.

• Addressing stigma is essential for optimizing TB control efforts. Stigma that arises in part 

because of the association of TB with poverty, marginalized populations, and other 

stigmatizing conditions (e.g., HIV), can have a substantial impact on a person’s willingness 

to access care and adhere to treatment plans.

1.2.2 Primary and Secondary Interventions to Prevent and Reduce Homelessness

• Workshop participants from different federal agencies presented an overview of resources 

specifically designed to improve health care for persons experiencing homelessness and to 

prevent and reduce homelessness.
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• The National Health Care for the Homeless Council can help connect homeless facilities or 

TB control programs with health care for persons experiencing homelessness.

• The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness focuses on homelessness as a public 

health crisis and uses an epidemiologic approach for understanding the root causes of 

homelessness.

• The Continuum of Care Program (CoC) is a US Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) competitive grant program that funds regional or local planning bodies 

that coordinate housing and services funding for persons and families experiencing 

homelessness.

• HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grants Program provides funds to metropolitan cities, urban 

counties, territories, and states for emergency shelters for persons and families experiencing 

homelessness.

• Despite a provision for housing support in the 1992 recommendations from CDC and the 

Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis that were focused on prevention and 

control of TB among homeless persons, many TB control programs do not have this option 

available for homeless patients.

1.3 Conclusion

Multiple challenges surrounding TB control among persons experiencing homelessness were 

discussed during the 2015 workshop. Barriers and challenges to implementing infection control 

measures, along with strategies for addressing those obstacles, were presented. Also presented 

were resources available for preventing and reducing homelessness. This report summarizes key 

messages from the workshop.
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2.0 GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT

administrative controls: management measures that are intended to reduce the risk for exposure 

to persons with infectious tuberculosis (TB). Examples include a written TB control policy; TB 

screening requirements for clients, staff, and volunteers; sign-in and bed tracking systems; and 

referral of symptomatic clients or those at high risk for TB evaluation.

congregate setting: a location in which groups of usually unrelated persons reside in close 

physical proximity.

environmental controls: measures adopted for preventing the spread and reducing the 

concentration of infectious respiratory droplets.

interferon gamma assay release (IGRA): blood test that measures a person’s immune 

reactivity to the bacteria that causes TB by measuring the amount of interferon-gamma in the 

blood.

latent TB infection (LTBI): a condition in which a person has been infected by Mycobacterium 

tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, but does not have any signs or symptoms of TB 

disease.

person experiencing homelessness: a person living in a place not meant for human habitation, 

an emergency shelter, or transitional housing; or a person who is exiting an institution where he 

or she temporarily resided or is unstably housed.

respiratory controls: use of personal protective equipment (e.g., surgical masks) to reduce risk 

for exposure to infectious respiratory droplets that have been expelled into the air from a patient 

with infectious TB disease.

TB disease: a condition in which M. tuberculosis is actively multiplying in the body and causing 

illness.

tuberculin skin test (TST): a test using an intradermal injection of purified protein derivative to 

elicit a raised wheal on the skin if M. tuberculosis is present in the body.
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3.0 INTRODUCTION

Approximately 1% of the US population experiences homelessness every year.1 Although the 

majority of persons experiencing homelessness reestablish housing within 1 year, on any given 

night, approximately 550,000 persons in the United States are without a permanent home).1,2

This number includes 84,000 chronically homeless persons, 40,000 veterans, and 194,000 

persons in families with children, plus another 35,000 unaccompanied children and youth.2

Homelessness is highly concentrated in certain areas and is economically costly in terms of 

support services for jails, detoxification programs, overnight homeless facilities, and hospitals.

Mortality rates among persons experiencing homelessness are 4–9 times higher than among the 

general population.3,4 Factors contributing to higher rates of premature death include inadequate 

or interrupted access to care, living in crowded conditions, mental illness, substance use, and 

chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus and human immunodeficiency (HIV) infection.3,4

These risk factors can increase both the likelihood of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 

the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), and subsequently experiencing TB disease.

M. tuberculosis is transmitted in respiratory droplets spread through the air. TB usually affects 

the lungs, but other sites of disease are also possible (e.g., the kidneys and the central nervous 

system). TB is curable, but can be fatal without timely diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, 

untreated, contagious persons can transmit M. tuberculosis to others. Common symptoms of TB 

disease include cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. TB treatment requires adherence to 

regimens consisting of multiple medications over an extended period.

TB has been associated with homelessness for decades. Although only approximately 1% of 

persons are homeless, approximately 5% of persons with diagnosed TB reported having been 

homeless within the year before diagnosis; this proportion has not changed despite decreases in 

TB incidence.5 During recent years, public health authorities have focused on TB control and 

prevention among persons experiencing homelessness, because many of the largest TB outbreaks 

often involve such persons.5,6

To address the challenges associated with TB control among persons experiencing homelessness, 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral 

Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention’s (NCHHSTP) Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE) 

hosted a workshop on TB and homelessness on September 28–29, 2015. During the workshop, 

attendees learned about TB and homelessness, participated in discussions with health department 

TB control program staff and homeless service providers, reviewed examples of transmission 
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control measures that are associated with interrupting TB transmission, and discussed specific 

challenges faced by health department TB control programs throughout the United States 

(Appendix A).

Approximately 120 participants from 14 states and the District of Columbia attended the 

workshop, including 32 representatives from homeless facilities (e.g., overnight homeless 

facilities), 55 from national organizations, including federal agencies, and 48 from state and local 

TB control programs (Appendix B). This report provides a record of the participants’ 

observations of barriers and challenges faced in addressing TB control among persons 

experiencing homelessness, as well as a guide for strategies that can be used to address these 

barriers and challenges. It also provides information discussed during the workshop about 

resources available for preventing and reducing homelessness.

3.1 Background

DTBE’s National TB Surveillance System (NTSS) collects information on each newly reported 

case of TB disease in the United States. Demographic data collected includes housing status; that 

is, a person is reported as homeless if he or she has not had a home or stable residence any time 

within the 12 months before diagnosis of TB (e.g., is not paying rent, does not own a home, and 

is not steadily living with relatives or friends). Persons in unstable housing situations (e.g., 

alternating between multiple residences for short stays of uncertain duration) might also be 

considered homeless.7 The proportion of patients with TB who are reported as having been 

homeless within the 12 months before diagnosis in a given year has remained stable for the past 

decade at approximately 4%–6% of US TB cases, or approximately 350–600 TB cases/year.8

Outbreaks are characterized by more new TB cases in a given area or population related by 

recent M. tuberculosis transmission. Upon request from state or local jurisdictions, CDC 

provides assistance to areas experiencing TB outbreaks. Since 2012, CDC has provided onsite 

assistance with 22 TB outbreak investigations, including 5 involving persons experiencing 

homelessness (personal communication, Krista Powell, Lead, Outbreak Investigations 

Team/Surveillance, Epidemiology and Outbreak Investigations Branch/DTBE/NCHHSTP/CDC, 

September 28, 2015). Investigations involving persons experiencing homelessness identified 

more TB cases and substantially more contacts (i.e., persons potentially exposed to another 

person with TB disease) than investigations not involving persons experiencing homelessness. 

Among the 5 investigations involving persons experiencing homelessness, an average of 45 

cases and >5,000 contacts/outbreak were identified (personal communication, Krista Powell, 

Lead, Outbreak Investigations Team/Surveillance, Epidemiology and Outbreak Investigations 

Branch/DTBE/NCHHSTP/CDC, September 28, 2015). Each of these investigations involved 
Page | 7

overnight homeless facilities. Conversely, outbreaks that did not involve persons experiencing 

homelessness had <10 cases on average and 350 contacts/outbreak (personal communication, 

Krista Powell, Lead, Outbreak Investigations Team/Surveillance, Epidemiology and Outbreak 

Investigations Branch/DTBE/NCHHSTP/CDC, September 28, 2015). TB transmission within 

homeless facilities is preventable, but specific strategies for preventing TB transmission are not 

consistently implemented in these facilities.

9,10 Because of the size and severity of TB outbreaks 

involving persons experiencing homelessness in homeless facilities, the workshop focused on 

promoting awareness of practices for preventing TB transmission among this vulnerable 

population (Box 1) in congregate settings.

Box 1. Priority Activities for Tuberculosis Control Among Homeless Persons

• Prompt separation, evaluation, diagnosis, and reporting of all persons with 

tuberculosis (TB) symptoms.

• Recommended and complete treatment for all persons with medically diagnosed TB 

disease.

• Treatment of TB infection for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus 

infection or other medical conditions that increase the risk for TB (e.g., diabetes).

• Identification, examination, and treatment of all persons with previously 

inadequately treated TB disease, with latent TB infection, or recently exposed to 

infectious TB.

Adapted from: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevention and control 

of tuberculosis among homeless persons: recommendations of the Advisory Council 

f th Eli i ti f T b l i MMWR R R 1992 41(N RR 5) 13 23
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4.0 PREVENTING TB TRANSMISSION IN HOMELESS FACILITIES

4.1 Infection Control Measures

Infection control measures are intended to reduce transmission of contagious diseases by limiting 

exposure to persons with infectious disease. We present 3 strategies for addressing infection 

control.

4.1.1 Administrative Controls and Strategies

Administrative controls are management measures designed to reduce the risk for exposure to 

persons with infectious TB. Of the 3 types of infection control measures, administrative controls 

are the most fundamental and work particularly well when homeless facilities in a community 

collaborate with a TB control program to implement certain core measures, including the 

following:

• assigning responsibilities for TB infection control to a point-person at each facility;

• conducting TB risk assessments for these facilities;

— An example of a risk assessment worksheet for health care facilities that can be modified 

for use at a homeless facility is available at 

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/guidelines/AppendixB_092706.pdf.

• developing a written TB infection control plan for each facility.

— This plan should include procedures for systematically evaluating clients, staff, and 

volunteers for TB disease and infection (see additional details in the following 

discussion). Evaluations for TB should include regular queries to staff and clients 

regarding whether they have symptoms compatible with TB disease; further medical 

evaluation should be facilitated for persons with any TB symptoms.

— Requiring TB diagnostic evaluations for clients who stay longer than a defined period 

(e.g., after staying 1 day, 3 days, or 1 week) helps ensure all clients have been evaluated 

and treated, if necessary, for TB disease and infection. This helps minimize exposures to 

infectious TB within the facility. The grace period during which clients can obtain 

services without verification of TB diagnostic evaluations can differ by site and should be 

decided in consultation with the local TB control program. Usage of a shared platform for 

storing test results might facilitate result verification and prevent duplication of efforts.

• maintaining bed maps and tracking bed assignments, ideally in a searchable electronic format 

(e.g., a spreadsheet) rather than paper records to facilitate contact investigations if a TB case 

is reported;

• maintaining as much space as possible between beds and positioning beds head to toe to 

reduce the possibility of transmission;
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• posting signs and informational posters for client awareness and cough monitoring (e.g., see 

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/protect/cdc_cough.pdf.);

• considering use of a cough log to document which persons are coughing, particularly at 

night, so that they can be referred for medical evaluation (e.g., see 

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/tuberculosis_guidelines/TB_FJCSheter

s.pdf); and

• providing ongoing education to staff, volunteers, and clients (see additional details in the 

following discussion).

4.1.1.1 Systematic Diagnostic Evaluations for TB Disease and Infection

Treating latent TB infection (LTBI) not only prevents future TB cases,11 but it might also 

interrupt future M. tuberculosis transmission because it prevents the latent infection from 

becoming active, contagious TB.

Two tests for TB infection are available: either (a) the tuberculin skin test (TST) or (b) 

interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA). Both tests help differentiate persons with M. 

tuberculosis infection from those who do not have it. All clients with positive tests for TB 

infection should be evaluated for TB disease, but a negative test for TB infection does not always 

exclude the diagnosis of TB disease or LTBI. Decisions regarding patient management should 

always incorporate epidemiologic, historical, and other clinical information in addition to TST or 

IGRA results.12

Systematically evaluating facility clients for TB is an essential component of strategies for 

interrupting potential TB transmission.13,14 Screening for TB symptoms can be performed by 

using a standardized questionnaire that can be completed during client intake by agency staff or 

volunteers. Clients with symptoms compatible with TB should be separated from others until a 

medical evaluation for TB disease has been performed. They should remain separated until TB 

disease has been excluded or the patient is not contagious.

During the workshop, representatives from different organizations voiced concerns regarding 

barriers to establishing systematic evaluation of clients for TB (Box 2). Those barriers are 

outlined in the following sections along with recommendations for addressing them.

4.1.1.2 Barriers to Implementing Systematic Evaluation of Clients for TB in Homeless Facilities

• Introducing a screening system where one has not been used before is difficult.

• Shelter clients and directors are often facing multiple, enormous challenges.
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• Resources are limited.

• Confusion exists about which test is best for screening homeless clients for TB.

• Case finding through on-site symptom screening is resource-intensive and challenging 

because (a) clients do not always report TB symptoms and (b) shelter operators might not 

learn until later that clients with TB disease have stayed at the shelter.

• TB spreads when known contacts are evaluated, found to be infected, but are not treated; 

sometimes health care providers do not check for previous positive TB tests when they are 

evaluating a patient who has TB disease.

• Social distancing is difficult in a small shelter environment.

• Avoiding duplication of screenings is difficult (e.g., the same person gets screened and 

rescreened).

Box 2. Systematic Diagnostic Evaluations — Workshop Participant Voices

4.1.1.3 Strategies for Introducing Systematic Evaluation of Clients for TB

• Develop close associations between the TB control program and homeless facilities, even in 

the absence of a TB outbreak.

• Provide continual education (because shelters have high staff and volunteer turnover) about 

testing for TB infection.

• Train facility staff and volunteers in implementing cough monitoring and symptom 

screening.

• Create and implement general infection prevention guidelines for homeless facilities.

• Require proof of TB diagnostic evaluations for all staff and volunteers (e.g., annually).

• “We had a volunteer in a soup kitchen who went to the [emergency department] 

four times with ‘necrotizing pneumonia’ before [he or she was] evaluated for TB.”

• “We have less control over our space if it’s rented or contracted. We also find that 

transmission can occur during the day, when clients are socializing or watching TV 

together.”

• “We have people dying of all kinds of things, and TB just [isn’t] in the top 

10 for me. It still seems like sort of a historic thing to me.”

• “What if the facility is an emergency shelter for victims of the sex trafficking 

industry or domestic violence? We have few resources and lack databases 

and access to medical care.”

• “We often hear in TB control that ‘a decision to screen is a decision to treat,’ but 

what does that mean for screening programs that identify cases of TB infection but 

do not have enough resources for treating them all?”
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4.1.1.4 Strategies for Prioritizing Resource Usage

• Ensure those at highest risk for having TB disease or infection are evaluated first (see 

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/testing/whobetested.htm).

• Consider on-site clinical services at the homeless facility for providing testing and screening.

• Assist clients in obtaining medical screening if not offered on-site; for example, certain 

clients are unaware that they have medical insurance, and staff or volunteers can help clients 

identify and use these resources.

4.1.1.5 Strategies for Selecting Testing Methods

• Coordinate with the TB control program to ensure successful implementation of a TB testing 

program in a homeless facility.

• Use up-to-date recommendations regarding targeted testing and treatment (see 

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/testing/tbtesttypes.htm or 

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/treatment/default.htm).

• For persons who are at risk for loss to follow-up after a TST (i.e., those who do not return for 

readings), consider using IGRAs. These tests do not require that clients return to have their 

test results interpreted (although the results are not back from the laboratory for several 

days). Moreover, the same blood draw can be used for other tests (e.g., HIV, syphilis, or 

hepatitis C). Consider having local health department personnel on-site at homeless facilities 

to help with interpretation and communication of test results.

• Be aware that IGRAs are also preferred for persons who have received bacille CalmetteGuérin (BCG) vaccination or therapy.

• Among facilities with HIV-infected clients, be aware that those clients might not disclose 

their status and that TSTs are less reliable in identifying TB infection among persons who are 

immunocompromised.

• During an outbreak or in a community with high TB prevalence, including chest radiograph 

or even sputum collection can improve screening results; however, mass chest radiograph 

screenings can be expensive and yield limited results.

4.1.1.6 Strategies for Managing Testing Results

• Rather than “decision to treat,” think “intention to engage.” That means working individually 

with clients to decide what works for them. For certain clients, short-term incentives and 

enablers are motivating; others will need longer-term enablers.

• Establish practices that incentivize TB screening and enable treatment. For example, offer 

vouchers for fast-food restaurants to participants who agree to be screened, or provide TB 

services (e.g., directly observed treatment [DOT] for LTBI) at meal-delivery sites.
Page | 12

• Emphasize the importance of having regular TB screening results to provide a baseline 

negative result for persons who might become infected later.

• Work with primary care clinics and shelters to create a data management system for 

recording who has been screened.

• Ensure the health department has access to the data management system (see section in this 

report on Homeless Management Information System or HMIS) so that staff can update 

infection clearances.

4.1.1.7 TB Education for Staff, Volunteers, and Clients

Although many persons have heard of TB, few report knowing much about the disease.15 For this 

reason, ensuring all staff, volunteers, and clients receive thorough education about TB when they 

begin working or staying at the facility and on an ongoing basis is crucial. Information shared 

should include that TB is treatable and curable and that taking certain steps can prevent 

transmission of TB in homeless facilities. (Box 3).

Box 3. Example of Education in Action

In collaboration with CDC, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, United States 

Interagency Council on Homelessness, and other health and social services organizations, the 

Curry International Tuberculosis Center has developed the “Homelessness and TB Toolkit,” 

which provides links to many educational resources (see also 

http://www.currytbcenter.ucsf.edu/products/view/homelessness-and-tb-toolkit). Examples 

include

• brochures and cover-your-cough posters in different languages;

• an 18-minute training video, “Shelters and TB: What Staff Need to Know” (2nd ed.); and

• an online, hour-long course for new staff and volunteers, CDC’s “TB 101” 

During an outbreak in a large city, health educators and medical students assisted 

with education efforts at shelters that had housed TB patients by

• identifying the leading health concerns of shelter clients and whom the clients had 

seen for health care;

• identifying gaps in knowledge among shelter staff, volunteers, and clients; and

• creating posters with information about the local outbreak and instructions for 

obtaining TB evaluation and treatment at the county health department, and 

displaying them both at the shelter and at places where clients usually sought care.
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4.1.2 Respiratory Controls and Strategies

Respiratory controls reduce TB transmission from symptomatic persons until medical 

evaluations can be completed. Strategies include the following:

• Encourage all homeless shelter staff, volunteers, or clients who are coughing to wear a 

surgical mask. (Masks worn by uninfected persons will not provide adequate protection from 

infection.) Asking a client to wear a mask might make him or her feel offended and singled 

out. As with all clients, a client who is coughing should be treated with dignity and respect.

• Provide disposable paper or cloth surgical masks to any symptomatic person.

• Separate those coughing until medically evaluated and found to be free of disease or are no 

longer contagious.

• Encourage staff and volunteers who are coughing to stay home until they are no longer 

coughing.

4.1.3 Environmental Controls and Strategies

Environmental controls can be helpful when used in conjunction with, but not in place of, 

administrative and respiratory controls to reduce TB transmission (see also 

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-105/default.html). Environmental strategies include the 

following:

• Ensure optimal ventilation of congregate spaces, either mechanically or naturally.

• Install air-cleaning methods (e.g., ultraviolet germicidal irradiation [UVGI] or highefficiency particulate air [HEPA] filters). These systems must be correctly installed and 

maintained and adequately sized for the intended room.

• Consider using partial air recirculation systems, but note that if the air is not filtered (UVGI 

or HEPA), contaminated air will be recirculated.

4.2 TB Contact Investigations Involving Persons Experiencing Homelessness

Early case finding and effective treatment for persons with TB disease are the most important 

measures for preventing spread of TB in the community, but treating recently infected contacts is 

also crucial for preventing additional TB cases. Contact investigations are the systematic 

processes through which persons exposed during the infectious period of a TB patient’s illness 

are identified, located, and evaluated for TB infection and disease. Evaluations of contacts 

usually are based on a brief medical history and careful symptom review; this is followed by a 

TST or IGRA, with chest radiographs for those who are symptomatic or who have TST results of 

an induration measuring ≥5 mm or a positive IGRA. A thorough contact investigation should be 

performed for every infectious TB case.16
Page | 14

Contact investigation strategies can be divided into 2 categories.

• Traditional Name-Based Approach — Identifies potential contacts present during an 

infectious period through an interview with the TB patient.

• Location-Based Approach — Identifies potential contacts present during an infectious 

period on the basis of third-party rosters (e.g., jail, prison, or shelter logs).

Contact investigations can be challenging in homeless facilities. Some expected difficulties 

include the following:

• locating the patient and contacts because of frequent relocation;

• episodic incarceration;

• migration from 1 jurisdiction to another;

• psychiatric illnesses, including substance use disorders, that hinder communication or 

participation; and

• competing priorities (e.g., other medical conditions or personal problems that they might be 

more concerned about).

Although some TB programs have used mass screenings (i.e., testing everyone present in a given 

time and place, regardless of whether those persons were exposed to someone with infectious 

disease) to identify exposed persons, whenever feasible case-finding efforts during TB outbreaks 

should prioritize the identification of persons with known exposures in congregate settings. Mass 

screenings can strain limited resources, attract persons with little or no recent TB exposure, and 

often present challenges in data management and interpretation.16 When names or locations of 

specific contacts are unknown, interviews with the patient and potential contacts should focus on 

social networks and settings, including correctional facilities (Box 4).

17

Box 4. Contact Investigations — Workshop Participant Voices

4.2.1 Barriers to Conducting Contact Investigations in Homeless Facilities

• Difficulty locating clients.

• Difficulty eliciting information about contacts.

• “I can share a story about two shelters on the same campus. One was amenable 

to health department ‘TB sweeps [mass screening of shelter residents with sputum 

sample collection],’ and has a ‘cough, cough, and spit’ requirement. The other has 

an ‘open-door policy’ and was more resistant to [the] health department’s coming 

on-site. But that all changed when the second shelter had their first case.”

• “No one at our shelter will name the people they have spent time with. Even if they 

are willing to share them, they may not know their real names.”
Page | 15

4.2.2 Strategies for Conducting Contact Investigations in Homeless Facilities

• If the source patient is unable to provide names, ask him or her to describe contacts or to 

provide nicknames or street names.

• Enlist medical providers to offer on-site evaluations at homeless service facilities.

4.3 Addressing Stigma

Stigmatization is the process of negative discrimination against persons who have certain 

physical, behavioral, or social attributes. Health conditions like TB have been socially 

stigmatizing to varying degrees throughout history; moreover, as with other health problems, 

stigma contributes to a hidden burden of illness.18

Persons experiencing homelessness are also subject to stigma regardless of their personal 

circumstances or health conditions. In jurisdictions where TB is especially prevalent in 

congregate settings (e.g., overnight homeless facilities), this additional stigma can be strongly 

associated with an already marginalized population. The fear of stigma can inhibit persons from 

being willing participants in surveillance or screening programs, further deter persons from 

seeking and accepting medical care, or increase suspicion around such interventions as LTBI 

treatment. TB control measures for persons experiencing homelessness must consider potential 

stigmatization and — through use of inclusive language, strict adherence to rules protecting 

privacy, and education — work to fight stigma associated with TB and with homelessness (Box 

5).

Box 5. Addressing Stigma — Workshop Participant Voices

4.3.1 Strategies for Addressing Stigma

• Collaborate with a consumer advisory board comprising persons experiencing homelessness.

• Survey homeless persons to determine what approaches work best for them.

• Consider using approaches that include

— offering medical evaluations to everyone and including other types of health screening in 

conjunction with TB testing;

• “We found [that] telling clients ‘It’s all about you, and we want to protect you’ to be 

a very helpful approach.”
Page | 16

— having nonprofit groups or other trusted sources explain the necessity of screening for 

TB;

— providing on-site TB education;

— offering education regarding the importance of complying with new shelter screening 

policies;

— providing a window (e.g., 3–7 days) during which clients must receive health screening;

— locating alternative sites for TB education and testing;

— having medical staff on-site at shelters to conduct screenings; and

— providing shelters with support for building on-site clinics to provide screenings.

4.4 Establishing Partnerships for Addressing TB Control Among Persons 

Experiencing Homelessness

TB control programs and homeless facilities address different needs of persons experiencing 

homelessness, but can work together to promote TB control (Box 6).

Box 6. Establishing Partnerships — Workshop Participant Voices

4.4.1 Barriers to Establishing Partnerships

• Difficulty getting buy-in from nontraditional partners.

• Concerns regarding sharing of personally identifiable information.

• Aligning priorities of different facilities, particularly those that are smaller or less willing to 

collaborate.

4.4.2 Strategies for Establishing Partnerships

• Find allies among community health providers, other homeless facilities, or nongovernmental 

agencies (i.e., form a type of task force [Box 7]).

• Determine if homeless facilities, TB control programs, or partner agencies are providing TB 

control services in the community.

• Learn from collaborations where the responsibility and reporting of screening results is 

shared among partners.

• “Smaller shelters and bunkhouses are a bit more off-the-grid and really just 

focused on making money. They are less willing to work with us.”

• “Our health department [staff worry] about sharing information about transmission 

because they think it looks like they’ve done a bad job in TB control.”
Page | 17

• Coordinate with TB control programs to establish systems for identifying and following up 

with persons who test positive for TB disease or LTBI.

• Establish a working relationship or memorandum of understanding with partner agencies 

(e.g., local TB control program, state or territorial health department, National Health Care 

for the Homeless Council, or HUD’s CoC Program).

• Use de-identified local data (e.g., diagrams showing timelines and patient connections) to 

explain the problem and risks to stakeholders.

• Establish regular information sharing sessions with multiple stakeholders, including clients 

and staff, boards of directors, community leaders, and other public health officials.

• Educate staff and volunteers, who can help ensure information reaches clients.

• Maintain a point of contact at each shelter who can update staff, volunteers, and clients about 

protocols.

Box 7. Example of a Tuberculosis Control Task Force

4.5 Data Management

Many different organizations collect clinical and demographic information about persons 

experiencing homelessness. Such information as TB test results, past medical history (e.g., HIV 

or other immunocompromising conditions), clinical case characteristics, and facility rosters are 

often useful during routine TB control efforts (e.g., contact and outbreak investigations). 

Although merging information from different sources might be useful for public health decision 

making, lack of standardization among systems complicates efforts to do this. Furthermore, data 

confidentiality policies and procedures must be respected, particularly when using data from 

different systems. Despite these challenges, demographic and clinical data as well as such 

information as facility rosters can contribute substantially to TB control. Having these data helps 

prioritize limited resources because it allows TB control programs and partners to focus 

resources on contacts of persons with infectious disease. Data management is the overall 

Task force membership might include

• homeless overnight facility and other service providers,

• transitional housing providers,

• state department of health staff,

• county department of health staff,

• regional Continuum of Care staff,

• regional Commission on Homelessness staff, and

• local medical school instructors and students.
Page | 18

organization of information that maintains the integrity of the data collected. A systematic, 

consistent approach to data collection, organization, analysis, and dissemination is required. 

Possible sources of information and the data that might be available are described in the 

following sections.

4.5.1 Health Department TB Control Programs

TB control programs collect information about patients with TB disease, contacts of patients 

with TB disease, and TB infection test results. Specific data elements that will be helpful include 

personal identifiers (to link information available from all sources for a specific person), 

infectious periods for each person with active TB disease, contacts and their association 

(including relationship or location), results and dates of any chest radiographs, dates of TB 

infection tests and results, and dates of any TB infection treatment.

4.5.2 Overnight Homeless Facilities — Electronic Registration or Bed Maps

Electronic registration and bed maps help overnight homeless facilities track clients who are 

using the facility’s services. These electronic records can facilitate location-based contact 

investigations, allowing TB control staff to identify persons most likely to have had substantial 

contact with a patient with infectious illness and who require additional evaluation. Furthermore, 

data from overnight facilities can help identify other persons who might have been exposed to a 

person with infectious disease. Databases that track the dates when each person stayed can also 

help quantify how much exposure a person might have had to the person with infectious TB.

4.5.3 Homeless Management Information System

National data regarding homelessness are crucial for guiding key national policy decisions. The 

Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is a federally funded, locally administered, 

electronic data collection system that stores person-level information about those who use 

homeless services.

HMIS is also intended for guiding local decision-making. For example, HMIS can support both 

coordinated entry processes and client case plans among participating homeless facilities. HMIS 

also has been used in emergency situations (e.g., post-Hurricane Katrina shelters in 2005) to 

assist in information sharing.

HMIS is a requirement only for shelters that receive federal funding. However, strategies are 

available for encouraging non-federally funded agencies to use the system as well. For example, 

one TB control program provides training for homeless facility staff and offers proof of TB 
Page | 19

screening cards that can be barcoded to facilitate client intake. That same card might be used 

across all participating homeless facilities, thus decreasing the need for data entry.

During a TB outbreak, HMIS can serve as a centralized repository for dates and locations of 

persons who have stayed at overnight facilities and for monitoring who might need to be 

screened for TB infection. For example, clients who have been identified as exposed to a patient 

with TB disease can be flagged as needing a TB evaluation.

4.5.4 Barriers to Establishing Electronic Data Systems

• Cost.

• Lack of information technology expertise.

• Insufficient staffing.

• Fragmented and inconsistent policies among shelters.

• Concerns regarding client privacy.

• Uncertainty regarding who should have access to data.

• Impediments to the intake process.

4.5.5 Strategies for Establishing Electronic Data Systems

• Allow sufficient time for setting up a system, including implementing HMIS cards.

• Engage all stakeholders early to create buy-in and promote understanding of the need for 

efficient data management. Consider moving ahead with those in agreement, but continue 

reaching out to agencies who did not initially agree and offer them additional opportunities 

for engagement.

• Be creative about obtaining resources needed for implementing a data system, including 

leveraging existing funding sources (e.g., HUD-funded programs).

• Consider data system operators’ needs for substantial training and support.

• Provide clear guidance and support for shelters when asking them to change their intake 

protocols.

• Understand how the system can and cannot share information across agencies.

• Include data-entry fields that are meaningful to users.

— Consider if needed data already exist.

— Determine whether data are of sufficient quality to pursue adding to the new system.

• Integrate new steps into existing workflow processes as much as possible.

• Identify and address ways that workflow processes need to change (e.g., timeliness of data 

entry).
Page | 20

• If using HMIS in emergency situations only, be sure mutual agreement exists among partners 

about what constitutes an emergency.

— Identify strategies that are effective and sustainable so that they continue even after an 

immediate crisis abates. For example, incorporate plans into written standards.

— Clearly understand your privacy and data-sharing requirements for partner agencies.

o No client is required to share information before receiving services.

o Clients sign consent forms for sharing TB data among partners.

o Clients have the right to opt out of being in HMIS, but each facility is required to ask 

them for consent and to provide aggregated data.

o Only designated users should have access to the system.

• Protecting the relationships between staff and clients while introducing electronic systems is 

crucial.
Page | 21

5.0 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY INTERVENTIONS FOR PREVENTING 

AND REDUCING HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness and poor health are inextricably intertwined.19 Homelessness places persons at 

risk for poor health and complicates efforts to treat illnesses and injuries. Neither health care 

financing nor the structure of the health care delivery system are attuned to the particular needs 

of homeless persons. Thus, persons experiencing homelessness suffer illnesses at 3–6 times the 

rates experienced by others, have higher mortality rates, and have dramatically lower life 

expectancy.3,4 However, efforts to improve health care for persons experiencing homelessness 

and to address the public health implications of homelessness are chief components of 

preventing the spread of infectious diseases, including TB.

Workshop participants from different federal agencies presented a broad overview of resources 

specifically designed to improve health care for persons experiencing homelessness and to 

prevent and reduce homelessness.

5.1 Addressing Homelessness as a Public Health Problem

• The National Healthcare for the Homeless Council works with federally qualified health 

centers, which are funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration and can help 

connect facilities or TB control programs with health care providers.

— Approximately 260 Healthcare for the Homeless groups provide patient-centered primary 

care homes across the country.

• The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, comprising 19 federal agencies, 

focuses on homelessness as a public health crisis and uses an epidemiologic approach for 

understanding its root causes.

— A growing number of reports indicate that stable housing is associated with lower health 

care costs.20–23

— A substantial decrease (47% during 2010–2016) in the number of veterans who are 

homeless is associated with the first strategic plan by the US Department of Veterans 

Affairs to end homelessness, implemented in 2010.24

— HUD’s Special Needs Assistance Programs have flexibility in how they use their 

resources and are encouraged by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

to focus on areas where homelessness is concentrated.

— Addressing homelessness as an emergency situation can allow surge response by local 

jurisdictions with access to more resources.
Page | 22

5.2 Housing Resources

5.2.1 HUD Programs

• CoC Program. The CoC Program consists of regional or local planning bodies (Continuums 

of Care) that coordinate housing and services’ funding for persons and families experiencing 

homelessness (Box 8).

— Continuums of Care receive approximately $1.9 billion in funding annually, which is 

distributed through a competitive grants program, with federal money awarded to local 

planning bodies (states, counties, or cities) to be shared among subgrants to local 

nonprofit organizations. Grantees have flexibility and local autonomy for deciding what 

to prioritize.

— Continuums of Care require that multiple stakeholders, including hospitals and law 

enforcement, are included. In certain areas, jails also are included.

— Continuums of Care grants can be used to find housing for TB patients.

Box 8. Continuum of Care Program Components

• Emergency Solutions Grants Program. The Emergency Solutions Grants Program (ESG) 

provides funds to metropolitan cities, urban counties, territories, and states to provide 

emergency shelter for homeless persons and families to prevent homelessness (Box 9).

— ESG awardees receive approximately $300 million annually and can fill gaps left by the 

CoC Program (e.g., supporting emergency shelters).

— ESG is a flexible funding resource that can help pay for street outreach to provide 

essential blankets and food. It can also be used to support a licensed health care provider 

for providing on-site emergency health care and mental health services, as well as 

transportation to an emergency department.

— ESG awardees are required to collaborate with the local CoC regarding how to allocate 

funds.

For those interested in addressing TB among persons experiencing homelessness in their 

community, they can write that component into their CoC or ESG plan to provide services for

• Permanent housing

• Transitional housing

• Supportive services only

• Homeless Management Information System

• Homelessness prevention
Page | 23

• housing for TB patients,

• TB screening in homeless facilities,

• shelter staff and volunteer training regarding cough monitoring and symptom screening; and

• electronic shelter registration systems (e.g., HMIS).

Box 9. Emergency Solutions Grants Program Components

5.2.2 Housing First and Housing Support Interventions

Housing First is a model intervention that was first established in the United States in the early 

1990s. As the name indicates, the emphasis is on getting clients into housing at an early stage —

the assumption being that persons with physical, mental health, or substance use problems are 

better able to address their needs after housing has been established. These services are still 

provided, but housing is not predicated on successful patient engagement.25

Such interventions as Housing First are associated with improved HIV treatment adherence, 

improved overall health outcomes, cost savings, and improved patient experience.26–28 Studies 

have also reported that providing housing or shelter to homeless TB patients improves adherence 

to TB therapy and cost savings among that population.29,30

5.2.3 Barriers to Housing TB Patients

• Despite a provision for housing support in the 1992 recommendations, many TB control 

programs do not have this option available for homeless patients.31

• No standard approach for housing homeless TB patients exists.

• If an outbreak occurs, time does not permit developing a system for housing patients because 

that can take months.

• Funding to support systems for providing housing might erode after an outbreak has been 

brought under control.

• Housing might be located in neighborhoods where drug use and other illicit activity occur.

• Street outreach

• Emergency shelters

• Homelessness prevention

• Rapid re-housing

• Homeless Management Information System
Page | 24

5.2.4 Strategies for Housing TB Patients

• Establish a housing contract to ensure that patients receiving TB treatment have a place to 

live. For example, a large urban TB control program contracts with the American Lung 

Association (ALA) to house homeless patients. ALA staff and volunteers

— educate property owners and managers to facilitate participation;

o Options for housing include hotels or motels in urban areas or mobile homes in more 

rural areas; all housing options must comply with public health standards (e.g., 

individual ventilation systems).

— establish a conduct code that is signed by each client (e.g., no visitors while still 

contagious, being available for DOT, and no illicit drugs);

— pay for clients’ rent and utilities and provide each client with a move-in kit with personal 

items and cleaning supplies, clothing, non-TB transportation (e.g., to go to the Social 

Security office to obtain identification cards), and food; and

— visit clients weekly (health department staff visit daily);

• Explore alternative funding sources for providing housing.

— Many TB clients are coinfected with HIV, and TB control programs might qualify for 

receipt of Ryan White funding support (https://hab.hrsa.gov/about-ryan-white-hivaidsprogram/about-ryan-white-hivaids-program).

• Consider alternative locations for TB housing. For example, one TB control program located 

a small rural motel that was in the process of going out of business and used it for housing 

TB patients. The county health department provided transportation back and forth between 

the motel and a shelter.

• Ensure housing plans are in place so that the community is prepared in the event of an 

outbreak.
Page | 25

6.0 REFERENCES

1. National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP). Homelessness in America: 

overview of data and causes. Washington, DC: NLCHP; [undated]. 

https://www.nlchp.org/documents/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.

2. Henry M, Watt R, Rosenthal L, Shivji A. Part 1—Point-in-time estimates of homelessness. 

In: Annual homeless assessment report (AHAR) to Congress. Washington, DC: US 

Department of Housing and Urban Development; 2016. 

https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2016-AHAR-Part-1.pdf.

3. Baggett TP, Hwang SW, O’Connell JJ, et al. Mortality among homeless adults in Boston: 

shifts in causes of death over a 15-year period. JAMA Intern Med 2013;173:189–95. doi: 

10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.1604.

4. Morrison DS. Homelessness as an independent risk factor for mortality: results from a 

retrospective cohort study. Int J Epidemiol 2009;38:877–83. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyp160.

5. Bamrah S, Yelk Woodruff RS, Powell K, Ghosh S, Kammerer JS, Haddad MB. Tuberculosis 

among the homeless, United States, 1994–2010. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2013;17:1414–9. doi: 

10.5588/ijtld.13.0270.

6. Moonan PK, Ghosh S, Oeltmann JE, Kammerer JS, Cowan LS, Navin TR. Using genotyping 

and geospatial scanning to estimate recent Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission, United 

States. Emerg Infect Dis 2012;18:458–65. doi: 10.3201/eid1803.111107.

7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC tuberculosis surveillance data 

training. Report of verified case of tuberculosis (RVCT): self-study modules participant 

manual. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2009. 

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11756.

8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Reported tuberculosis in the United 

States, 2015. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2016. 

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/statistics/reports/2015/default.htm.

9. Azevedo MJ, Conwill DE, Lawrence S, et al. Tuberculosis containment among the homeless

in metropolitan Jackson, Mississippi. J Miss State Med Assoc 2015;56:243–8.

10. Powell KM, VenderEnde DS, Holland DP, et al. Outbreak of drug-resistant Mycobacterium 

tuberculosis among homeless people in Atlanta, Georgia, 2008–2015. Pub Health Rep 

2017;132:231–40. doi: 10.1177/0033354917694008.

11. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Screening for tuberculosis and tuberculosis 

infection in high-risk populations: recommendations of the Advisory Council for the 

Elimination of Tuberculosis. MMWR Recomm Rep 1995;44(No. RR-11):19–34.

12. Kong P, Tapy J, Calixto P, et al. Skin-test screening and tuberculosis transmission among the 

homeless. Emerg Infect Dis 2002;8:1280–4. doi: 10.3201/eid0811.020306.
Page | 26

13. Rendleman N. Mandated TB screening in a community of homeless people. Am J Prev Med 

1999;17:108–13.

14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral 

Hepatitis, STD, and TB. Core curriculum on tuberculosis: what the clinician should know. 6th

ed. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2013. 

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/education/corecurr/pdf/corecurr_all.pdf.

15. Marks SM, DeLuca N, Walton W. Knowledge, attitudes and risk perceptions about 

tuberculosis: US National Health Interview Survey. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2008;12:1261–7.

16. Mindra G, Wortham JM, Haddad MB, Powell KM. Tuberculosis outbreaks in the United 

States, 2009–2015. Public Health Rep 2017;132:157–63. doi: 10.1177/0033354916688270.

17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for the investigation of contacts of 

persons with infectious tuberculosis: recommendations from the National Tuberculosis 

Controllers Association and CDC. MMWR Recomm Rep 2005;54(No. RR-15):1–37.

18. Barrett RL. Health-related stigma and discrimination. International Encyclopedia of Public 

Health 2008:269–72. 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123739605001416.

19. National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Housing is health care. Nashville, TN: 

National Health Care for the Homeless Council; 2011. http://www.nhchc.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/10/Housing-is-Health-Care.pdf.

20. Larimer ME, Malone DK, Garner MD, et al. Health care and public service use and costs 

before and after provision of housing for chronically homeless persons with severe alcohol 

problems. JAMA 2009;301:1349–57. doi: 10.1001/jama.2009.414.

21. Perlman J, Parvensky J. Denver Housing First Collaborative: cost benefit analysis and 

program outcomes report. Denver, CO: Colorado Coalition for the Homeless; 2006. 

https://shnny.org/uploads/Supportive_Housing_in_Denver.pdf.

22. Mondello M, Gass AB, McLaughlin T, Shore N. Cost of homelessness: cost analysis of 

permanent supportive housing. Portland, ME: Maine Department of Health and Human 

Services; 2007. https://shnny.org/uploads/Supportive_Housing_in_Maine.pdf.

23. Guerin P. City of Albuquerque Housing First cost study: final report. Albuquerque, NM: 

University of New Mexico; 2011. http://isr.unm.edu/reports/2011/city-of-albuquerquehousing-first-cost-study-final-report..pdf.

24. US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA is working to end homelessness among 

veterans. Washington, DC: VA; 2017. 

https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/about_the_initiative.asp.

25. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Housing First. Washington, 

DC: USICH; 2017. https://www.usich.gov/solutions/housing/housing-first.
Page | 27

26. Aidala AA, Wilson MG, Shubert V, et al. Housing status, medical care, and health outcomes 

among people living with HIV/AIDS: a systematic review. Am J Public Health 2016;106:e1–

23. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302905.

27. Wolitski RJ, Kidder DP, Pals SL, et al. Randomized trial of the effects of housing assistance 

on the health and risk behaviors of homeless and unstably housed people living with HIV. 

AIDS Behav 2010;14:493–503. doi: 10.1007/s10461-009-9643-x.

28. Aidala AA, Lee G, Abramson DM, Messeri P, Siegler A. Housing need, housing assistance, 

and connection to HIV medical care. AIDS Behav 2007;11(6 Suppl):101–15.

29. LoBue PA, Cass R, Lobo D, Moser K, Catanzaro A. Development of housing programs to 

aid in the treatment of tuberculosis in homeless individuals: a pilot study. Chest

1999;115:218–23.

30. Marco A, Caylà JA, Serra M, et al. Predictors of adherence to tuberculosis treatment in a 

supervised therapy programme for prisoners before and after release. Eur Respir J 

1998;12:967–71.

31. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevention and control of tuberculosis among 

homeless persons: recommendations of the Advisory Council for the Elimination of 

Tuberculosis. MMWR Recomm Rep 1992;41(No. RR-5):13–23.
Page | 28

7.0 APPENDIX A: WORKSHOP AGENDA

Day 1, September 28, 2015

Morning Session I, 8:30–10:00 a.m., Welcome and Introduction of the Problem

Moderator: Thomas Navin, Chief, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Outbreak Investigations 

Branch, Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE), Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC)

Time Topic Speakers and panelists

8:30–8:40 a.m. Welcome Phil LoBue, Division Director, DTBE, CDC

8:40–8:55 a.m. Introductions Sapna Morris, Medical Officer, Field 

Services Branch, DTBE, CDC

8:55–9:05 a.m. An Introduction to the 

Problem from the National 

Perspective

Krista Powell, Team Lead, Surveillance, 

Epidemiology, and Outbreak Investigations 

Branch, DTBE, CDC

9:05–9:45 a.m. An Introduction to the 

Problem from the Local 

Perspective: the Experience 

in Hinds County, Mississippi

Donald Franklin, Special Projects Officer, 

Mississippi State Department of Health, 

Jackson, Mississippi

Rosalind Yarber, Social Services Director, 

Jackson Metro Area Salvation Army, 

Jackson, Mississippi

Break, 9:45–10:00 a.m.

Morning Session II, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Overview of Infection Control Measures and 

Partnerships

Moderator: Thomas Navin, Branch Chief, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Outbreak 

Investigations Branch, DTBE, CDC

Time Topic Speakers and panelists

10:00–10:20 a.m. What Are Infection Control 

Measures and Why Do We 

Need Them?

Krista Powell

10:20–11:45 a.m. Establishing and Formalizing 

Partnerships Among 

Stakeholders

Tom Andrews, President, Mercy Care, 

Atlanta, Georgia

Heta Patel, Communicable Disease 

Specialist Supervisor, Fulton County 

Department of Health and Wellness, 

Atlanta, Georgia

Masa Narita, TB Control Officer, Public 

Health – Seattle & King County, Seattle, 

Washington
Page | 29

Time Topic Speakers and panelists

Christopher White, Rapid Transitions 

Program Manager, The Salvation Army 

William Booth Center, Seattle, Washington

John Bernardo, Tuberculosis Control 

Officer, Massachusetts Department of 

Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

11:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Morning Wrap-Up Thomas Navin

Afternoon Session I, 1:00 p.m.–2:45 p.m., Establishing Key Infection Control Measures in 

Facilities

Time Topic Session Notes

12:00–12:15 p.m. Break Please pick up lunch and return to Building 

8, Room 1 A/B/C. Preordered lunches will 

be delivered to the meeting room.

12:15–12:45 p.m. Discussion with a Patient A patient who was homeless at the time of 

TB diagnosis will discuss the impact of 

diagnosis and treatment.

12:45–1:00 p.m. Break We will have a short break after the 

conclusion of the patient’s presentation.

Time Topic Speakers and panelists

1:00–2:15 p.m. Administrative Measures

(Examples include written 

TB policy, TB screening 

requirements, sign-in and 

bed-tracking systems, or 

referral of symptomatic 

clients)

Randall Reves, Medical Director, TB Control 

Program, Denver Public Health Department, 

Denver, Colorado

Carolyn Bargman, Public Health Nurse, 

Denver Metro TB Clinic/Boulder County 

Public Health, Denver, Colorado

2:15–2:45 p.m. Respiratory Measures

(Examples include 

monitoring for cough, 

distribution of masks to 

persons with cough, or 

separation/isolation of 

persons at high risk or 

symptomatic persons until 

TB evaluations are 

complete)

Group discussion

Afternoon Session II, 3:00–5:00 p.m., Establishing Key Infection Control Measures, 

Education, and Environmental Control Measures

Moderator: Krista Powell, Team Lead, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Outbreak 

Investigations Branch, DTBE, CDC
Page | 30

Time Topic Speakers and panelists

3:00–3:30 p.m. Homeless Management 

Information System

Lorena McDowell, Deputy Director, 

Programs & Grant Management, Partners 

for HOME/Atlanta Continuum-of-Care, 

Atlanta, Georgia

Lindsey Stillman, Project Manager, The 

Cloudburst Group, Atlanta, Georgia

David Canavan, Managing Director, 

Canavan Associates, Atlanta, Georgia

3:30–4:20 p.m. Educating Everyone in Your 

Facility

Amera Khan, Team Lead, Communications, 

Education, and Behavioral Studies Branch, 

DTBE, CDC

Neela Goswami, Infectious Diseases, 

Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Kourtney Floyd, Nurse TB Consultant, 

Georgia Department of Public Health, 

Atlanta, Georgia

Tabatha Ball, Director of Health Service 

Operations, Jacksonville, Florida

4:20–4:50 p.m. Environmental Control 

Measures as an Adjunct to 

Other Measures

Garry Blackwelder, Infection Control Team, 

Division of Global HIV and TB, CDC

4:50–5:00 p.m. Day 1 Wrap-Up Moderator, Krista Powell

Day 2, September 29, 2015

Morning Session I, 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Housing as a Health Care Intervention for 

Patients with TB

Moderator: Sapna Morris, Medical Officer, Field Services Branch, DTBE, CDC

Time Topic Speakers and panelists

8:30–8:50 a.m. Examples of HousingSupport Programs and 

Partnerships Used by TB 

Control Programs

Sapna Morris

8:50–9:20 a.m. How to Work with Your 

Continuum of Care Program 

to Provide Housing

Susan Ziff, US Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, Washington, DC

Marlisa Grogan, Special Needs Assistant 

Specialist, US Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, Washington, DC

9:20–9:40 a.m. Evidence for Housing as a 

Health Care Intervention

John Lozier, Executive Director, Health 

Care for the Homeless Council, Nashville, 

Tennessee

9:40 AM–10:00 AM Homelessness as a Public 

Health Problem

Richard Cho, Deputy Director, US 

Interagency Council on Homelessness, 

Washington, DC
Page | 31

Morning Session II, 10:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Strategies and Barriers to Implementation of 

Infection Control Measures

Moderator: Sapna Morris, Medical Officer, Field Services Branch, DTBE, CDC

Time Topic Speakers and panelists

10:15–11:45 a.m. Strategies and Barriers to 

Implementation of Infection 

Control Measures and 

Lessons Learned

Round table discussions moderated by 

Sapna Morris

11:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Day 2 Wrap-Up Moderator, Sapna Morris
Page | 32

8.0 APPENDIX B: WORKSHOP ATTENDEES, PRESENTERS,

AND PLANNERS, SEPTEMBER 28–29, 2015

Workshop Attendees

Sheanne Allen

Washington State Department of Health

Tom Andrews

Saint Joseph's Mercy Care Services

Carlota Arriozola

City of Houston TB Control

LuVette Baldwin

American Lung Association of Georgia

Tabatha Ball

IM Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless

Carolyn Bargman

Denver Public Health

Mark Bashor

Central Night Shelter, Inc.

Anita Beaty

Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, 

Inc.

John Bernardo

Boston University School of Medicine

Shawnese Blount

Fulton County Department of Health and 

Wellness

Harriet Leigh Boone

Municipality of Anchorage, DHHS

Lisa Caldeira

Catholic Social Services

David Canavan

Housing and Urban Development, SNAPS 

Office

Dean Carpenter

Neighborhood Services Organization

Richard Cho

United States Interagency Council on 

Homelessness

Michael Cobb

Hesed House

Tammy Cooper

Wayne State University

Maria Christina Cuevas

Los Angeles County TB Control Program

Jason Cummins

Tennessee Department of Health

Peter Davidson

Michigan Department of Health & Human 

Services

Brian Davis

Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless

Valerie Dawson

Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, 

Inc.

Jayme Day

National Alliance to End Homelessness

Lauren DiMiceli

Georgia Department of Public Health

Rupali Doshi

Health Resources and Services 

Administration
Page | 33

Bridget Dunlap

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/

Fulton County Department of Health and 

Wellness

Andrew Eke

Fulton County Department of Health and 

Wellness

Kortney Floyd

Georgia Department of Public Health

Anne Marie France

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Donald Franklin

Office of TB and Refugee Health

Maria Galvis

Arizona State Health Department

Mary Green

TB Control Florida DOH

Marlisa Grogan

Housing and Urban Development

Maryam Haddad

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Troy Harris

Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, 

Inc.

Antoinette Hayes-Triplett

Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative

Leslie Henry

California Department of Public Health

Kem Hobbs

Metro Atlanta Red Shield Services

Donna Hope Wegener

National TB Controllers Association

Quanetha Hunt

Volunteers of America Los Angeles

Hayedeh Jahansouz

The Bridge

Paul Johnson

Atlanta City Baptist Rescue Mission

Dana Kissner

Harper University Hospital Pulmonary 

Critical Care

Barbara Kuntz

Dallas County Health and Human Services

Andrea (Lynn) Latham

Georgia Department of Public Health

Veronica Lepper

Volunteers of America

Jylmarie Lewis

Florida Department of Health

John Lozier

National Healthcare for the Homeless 

Council

Jana Lynch

The Salvation Army

Eva Margolies (Retired)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ernest Martinez

Houston Department of Health

Bill Matson

Pathways Community Network Institute

Greg Matthews

Shelby County Health Dept
Page | 34

Marjorie McDermott

Georgia Department of Health

Lorena McDowell

City of Atlanta/Partners for Home

William Miller

Friends of the Homeless

Bradford Milton

Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration

David Munson

Boston Healthcare for the Homeless 

Program

Masa Narita

Public Health for Seattle & King County TB 

Clinic

Elizabeth Osborn

United States Interagency Council on 

Homelessness

John Parvensky

Colorado Coaltion/National Coalition for 

the Homeless

Heta Patel

Fulton County Department of Health and 

Wellness

Antoine Perrymon

Georgia Department of Public Health

Dajuana Phillip

Fulton County Department of Health and 

Wellness

Stephanie Quinn

American Lung Association of Georgia

Susan Ray

Georgia Department of Public Health and 

Emory University School of Medicine

Laura Reeves

Florida Department of Health

Randall Reves

Denver Public Health

Errol Robinson

New York City Department of Health

Janika Robinson

Fulton County Department of Health and 

Wellness

Raiza Ruiz

Texas Department of State Health Services

Titilola (Lola) Rush

DeKalb County Board of Health

Mike Sage

Stop TB USA

Rose Marie Sales

Georgia Department of Public Health

Kristina Schaller

Maricopa County Department of Public 

Health

Michael Sheppard

Atlanta Mission

Bella Siangonya

DeKalb County Board of Health

Benjamin Silk

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Page | 35

Nicole Simpson

Fulton County Department of Health and 

Wellness

Carmen Springer

Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness

Jane Stenson

Catholic Charities of USA

Lindsey Stillman

Cloudburst Group

Carrie Storrs

Illinois Department of Public Health

Frederick Sullivan

The Atlanta Recovery Center

Jeanne Sullivan Meissner

New York City Department of Health

Laura Tarin

Circle The City

Courtnay Turner

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Christopher White

Salvation Army

Carol Wick

Harbor House

Ashley Williams

City of Atlanta/Partners for Home

Samantha Williams

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Preston Witt

Harmony House, Inc.

Jonathan Wortham

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Rosalind Yarber

The Salvation Army

Susan Ziff

Housing and Urban Development

Workshop Planners

Sandy Althomsons

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Sapna Bamrah Morris

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Sherry Brown

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Krista Powell

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention