Surveying the Knowledge and Practices of Health Professionals in China, India, Iran, and Mexico on Treating Tuberculosis

Overview

Journal Am J Trop Med Hyg

Specialty Tropical Medicine

Date 2016 Feb 24

PMID 26903613

Citations 10

Authors

Steven J Hoffman

G Emmanuel Guindon

John N Lavis

Harkanwal Randhawa

Francisco Becerra-Posada

Masoumeh Dejman

Katayoun Falahat

Hossein Malek-Afzali

Parasurama Ramachandran

Guang Shi

C A K Yesudian

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Research evidence continues to reveal findings important for health professionals' clinical practices, yet it is not consistently disseminated to those who can use it. The resulting deficits in knowledge and service provision may be especially pronounced in low- and middle-income countries that have greater resource constraints. Tuberculosis treatment is an important area for assessing professionals' knowledge and practices because of the effectiveness of existing treatments and recognized gaps in professionals' knowledge about treatment. This study surveyed 384 health professionals in China, India, Iran, and Mexico on their knowledge and practices related to tuberculosis treatment. Few respondents correctly answered all five knowledge questions (12%) or self-reported performing all five recommended clinical practices "often or very often" (3%). Factors associated with higher knowledge scores included clinical specialization and working with researchers. Factors associated with better practices included training in the care of tuberculosis patients, being based in a hospital, trusting systematic reviews of randomized controlled double-blind trials, and reading summaries of articles, reports, and reviews. This study highlights several strategies that may prove effective in improving health professionals' knowledge and practices related to tuberculosis treatment. Facilitating interactions with researchers and training in acquiring systematic reviews may be especially helpful.

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