Actions taken by nursing education programs in the United States to prevent tuberculosis transmission in nursing students.

Abstract

Measures to prevent tuberculosis include education and skin testing of at-risk groups, including health care workers. This study focused on policies and practices related to tuberculosis in nursing education programs, especially skin testing and instruction. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of nursing administrators in associate and baccalaureate degree programs in the United States using an instrument adapted from a medical school study. Several factors may have contributed to fewer skin test conversions in nursing programs than in medical schools. Although most nursing education programs considered skin testing a priority, there were inconsistencies related to skin testing type and process when compared with recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Major content gaps related to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and the differences between pulmonary and extrapulmonary symptomatology were found.