Education and Publications

Publication

Union consultants publish findings and reports regularly in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) and contribute to the preparation of non-English versions. IJTLD articles in French are available on the Journal web pages and a CD-ROM is produced annually for all Union French-speaking members.
Technical guides
Union technical guides are regularly updated, translated and produced to the rhythm of about three a year. All PDF versions are free of charge; just click on the PDF sign to download.

	Technical Guides
	Other Union Publications
	Other resources
Other Links
CDC resource centre on tuberculosis training materials: The Division of Tuberculosis Elimination Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The National Tuberculosis Center The World Health Organization International Laboratory-related Resource and Activity Directory To illustrate your presentations and manuals, use the photographs from the World Lung Health Foundation Image Library For further information and resources from a patient-centred perspective, go to the Norwegian Association of Heart and Lung Patients’ website

Education

Education is an essential element of TB control and prevention and part of The Union’s strategy for disseminating information. Union consultants organise and help teach training courses run by The Union or other partners; they also participate in all types of World Conference sessions (workshops, post-graduate courses, meet-the-expert sessions, symposia and poster displays). Much of the Department’s educational work centres on The Union’s International Tuberculosis Course (ITC), now offered in English, French and Spanish.
Held for the first time in Arusha, Tanzania in 1991, the ITC incorporated all the elements of the mutual technical assistance programme actually in place, and in partnership, with the National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) of Tanzania. The pedagogical programme of the ITC became the basis of the first Union guide, “Management of Tuberculosis: a Guide for Low Income Countries”, this blueprint for promoting lung health in low- and middle-income countries became the template for all Union technical courses, guides and technical assistance.

The International Tuberculosis Courses offer an intensive curriculum that covers both the practical and theoretical aspects of tuberculosis prevention, treatment, and control. The three-week course is divided into five modules examining the bacteriologic basis of tuberculosis control, clinical presentation and diagnosis, the epidemiologic basis of tuberculosis control, interventions for tuberculosis control and the elimination of TB, and principles of tuberculosis control in a national programme. Teaching methods include lectures, discussion group work, laboratory bench work and field visits. Practical exercises train participants in programme assessment and planning, and both case studies and visits to the NTP of the host country add to their experience. Enrolment in the courses is limited to approximately 25 participants, who are nominated by their home countries and The Union. Preference is given to those who have responsibility within a national programme at the central or intermediate level.

Courses on drug resistance

Drug resistance is one of the major threats to tuberculosis control. The increase in cases of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and the emergence of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in 2006 underlined the importance of understanding the causes of drug resistance, how to prevent it, and how to treat it. The Union offers courses on managing multi-drug resistance in both a five-day international and a two-three day national format. The first offered in Latin America, these course are also now offered in English in other countries such as (Namibia, China and the Philippines),and in French in sub-Saharan Africa. The curriculum is designed to cover the theoretical basis for drug resistance and the measures that must be taken to treat and control MDR-TB, according to the most recent evidence and recommendations of the WHO. The target audience is specialist physicians, national tuberculosis programme managers, laboratory managers, and other professionals working with the clinical management and programmatic implications of multi drug-resistant TB.

If you would like to register for a Union course, please go to Courses and check out the calendar.

For further training resources, go to the department’s website at www.tbrieder.org. This site provides course presentations in English; “classics” in TB research; current research; Union technical guides in multiple languages; the EpiData software programme; and free instructions on how to use it; as well as an extensive photo library of tuberculosis case studies.

See more about The Union Courses