FERI-TB is in its founding pilot year. We do not yet have a full year of outcome data to report. What we have is a clearly articulated theory of change, a defined set of metrics we have committed to tracking, and a public schedule for publishing our results — good, bad, or unexpected.
The logic is simple and evidence-based. Structural barriers — housing instability, transportation gaps, language, stigma, fragmented care — interrupt tuberculosis treatment. Interrupted treatment produces worse patient outcomes, higher community transmission, and drug resistance. Removing those barriers, one patient at a time, closes the gap between what clinical treatment can achieve and what patients actually experience.
TB patients face structural barriers — housing, transportation, language, stigma, fragmented care — that interrupt a 6–9 month treatment course.
Patient navigation, culturally grounded education, and cross-sector coordination that meet patients where the barriers actually exist.
Higher treatment completion rates, fewer interruptions, and stronger linkage to housing, food, and behavioral health support.
Reduced community transmission and prevention of drug-resistant TB — saving lives and public dollars over the long term.
These are the outcome measures we will report publicly. Each is aligned with CDC and WHO tuberculosis surveillance definitions so that our data can be meaningfully compared to state and national benchmarks.
The composite narrative below illustrates the FERI-TB intervention using details drawn from real barriers we see in our service population. It is not a specific patient. Names and details are illustrative.
"M.," early 30s, refugee family, Baltimore County.
M. was diagnosed with pulmonary TB two months after arriving in the U.S. She spoke limited English, was working two hourly food-service jobs, and had no reliable transportation to her health department clinic. She missed three appointments in the first month of treatment — not because she didn't understand the stakes, but because taking the bus meant losing a shift.
A community-based referral connected her to a FERI-TB navigator who spoke her language and understood the scheduling reality of hourly work. Over the following weeks, the navigator coordinated video-DOT sessions during her lunch break, worked with a partner organization to arrange transportation credits for in-person visits, and connected M. to a food pantry when her hours were cut. Her treatment continued without further interruption.
M.'s clinical care never changed. What changed was whether she could complete it.
Public accountability is part of the intervention. We commit to the following reporting schedule and will publish results whether or not they meet our own expectations.
Patients enrolled, geographies served, active partnerships. Published on this page.
Full outcome report against the five metrics above. Published each March covering the prior calendar year, beginning March 2027.
Peer-reviewed publication of pilot findings, in partnership with academic collaborators, once sample size supports rigorous analysis.
Aggregate anonymized data available on request to funders, health department partners, and academic researchers.
Contributions to FERI-TB directly fund navigator time, patient transportation, translated materials, and the data systems that let us report honestly on what we do.
