Welcome to the Treasure Chest Program Page

What is the Treasure Chest Program? The Treasure Chest Program is a public health intervention that has been implemented by tuberculosis (TB) control programs in other states. It is an incentive program that Maine's TB Control Program is using to promote treatment adherence for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) or active tuberculosis disease (TB) among children in the age range from two (2) to ten (10). An evaluation of this intervention has demonstrated that children who participate in the program are more likely to complete therapy than those who do not participate.

How does the Treasure Chest Program work? Each participating child will be given a calendar page at the beginning of each month that the child is in therapy. Calendar illustrations are specific for tuberculosis treatment, as each month's illustration depicts a loving mother animal administering isoniazid (INH) to a happy baby animal. The word "tuberculosis" is not used in the calendar in order to protect the privacy of the child. Calendars are intended to be posted, one month at a time, on a bulletin board or refrigerator in the home.

Each enrolled child will be given a calendar page and enough colorful stickers for each day of the month. For each day that the child takes his/her medicine, a sticker may be placed on the calendar. At the end of each month, treatment adherence will be rewarded with a "prize" from the Treasure Chest. Prizes will be awarded by the public health nurse case manager who is visiting the home.

Treatment outcomes will be tracked for one year and compared to previous treatment outcomes for children in the target age range.

Please feel free to download the calendar for your own use. Use legal size paper (8.5 x 14) and a color printer for best results. For more information about the Treasure Chest Program, you may call the Maine Tuberculosis Control Program at (207) 287-5194.

These calendars are all in PDF format and fit legal sized (8.5 x 14) paper. If you don't have Adobe PDF on your machine, you can go here to download a free reader version.