Assessment of physicians' knowledge and familiarity regarding pulmonary tuberculosis in Missan governorate, Iraq

number: 
2665
English
Degree: 
Imprint: 
Medicine
Author: 
Ahmed AboodSalim
Supervisor: 
Dr. Atheer J. Al-Saffar
year: 
2011
Abstract:

The level of knowledge of doctors about tuberculosis and their attitudes may influence national tuberculosis control programs. Although some studies in many other countries have documented inadequate tuberculosis knowledge and poor compliance with tuberculosis treatment guidelines among practicing physicians, such data are lacking in Iraq. This cross sectional study investigated the level of knowledge of physicians regarding pulmonary tuberculosis, in addition to their familiarity with tuberculosis control programs, through a self-reported questionnaire specially prepared for this purpose. The questionnaire consisted of two parts; the first part included the physicians' demographic profile (age, sex, specialty …), in addition to questions regarding the familiarity with tuberculosis control programs, and the second part included 20 multiple choice and true/false questionsregarding pulmonary tuberculosis. The study was carried out in Missan Governorate between January, 1st and April, 30th 2010, and 123 physicians working in both hospitals and primary health care sectors, in addition to those who work in other places participated in this survey. This study showed that only 7% (n=9) obtained a good knowledge score, and nearly half of the respondents acquired an average score (49%), while the remaining 44% acquired a poor knowledge score. The main field in which the physicians did not acquire a passing score was in regard to the diagnosis of tuberculosis, while the best answers were seen in the field of prevention of tuberculosis, in which 58.5% of physicians acquired a passing score. No significant relation between the knowledge score and the gender, medical qualification, receiving tuberculosis training course, and place of work was seen in the study. The majority of studied physicians realized the magnitude of tuberculosis problem in Iraq, and those who considered the problem very serious acquired statistically significant higher score. The study showed that the physicians mainly gain their knowledge about tuberculosis through textbooks and attending academic meetings. The current study recommended the need for refreshment courses and continuous education of all physicians on guidelines for detection and early management of tuberculosis, and the importance of the availability of tuberculosis guidelines to every practicing medical doctor in the country.