Table 1

Key informants and their tuberculosis-related responsibilities
Jurisdiction/area	Type of interview	Responsibilities

State	In-person	Provides consultation in clinical and public health matters
	In-person	Under unusual circumstances, serves as lead epidemiologist and liaison with the local health districts and the state public health laboratory. (Provided public health consultation during the TB outbreak while the TB controller was on leave of absence)
	In-person	Provides oversight for surveillance and control of communicable diseases, including TB
	In-person*	Provides TB-related laboratory services; is responsible for processing TB samples
District	In-person	Performs TB case and contact investigations; reports TB cases; and advises about isolation
	In-person	Provides TB-program oversight and supervises nurse TB case manager
	In-person	Issues media releases and manages website with TB-specific materials prepared by the epidemiologists
	In-person	In this situation, provided interim management of epidemiologic activities
	In-person	Manages TB cases and provides treatment for latent TB infection
	In-person	Performs TB case and contact investigations and reports TB cases
CDC	Phone	Provides technical assistance in TB control and prevention to nine states in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains. CDC provides state funding for TB prevention and control activities
Community	In-person	Provides patient care and consultation
	In-person	Provides patient care and consultation
	Phone	Coordinates hospital infection control
	In-person	Coordinates hospital infection control
	In-person	Facilitates TB education
	In-person	Facilitates TB education; participates in TB clearance program

* Four laboratory professionals provided a consensus response. CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; TB, tuberculosis.
Freimanis Hance et al. BMC Public Health 2007 7:307 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-307