Knowledge and practices about Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program among clinicians of a medical college in India: A cross-sectional study

• Authors: RamBihariLal Shrivastava, S , Saurabh Shrivastava, P , Ramasamy, J

Abstracts

EN

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to pose a major global health problem, causing an estimated 8.8 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths during 2010. The role of private sector in countering this global problem cannot be underestimated. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of two months duration (February – March 2013) was conducted among all the clinical teaching faculty of various departments of a private Medical College in Kancheepuram district. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was designed after thoroughly studying the Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP) training modules (Modules 1-4). All the study participants were administered the questionnaire after obtaining their informed consent. Data entry and statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 17. Results: Out of the 51 study participants only 4(7.8%) were trained in RNTCP. Almost 28(54.9%) participants wrongly responded that three sputum examinations are recommended for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Approximately, half 25(49%) of the clinicians could not correctly ascertain the duration of treatment of TB . Conclusions: As the private sector plays a significant role in diagnosis of a major proportion of TB cases, the RNTCP cannot afford to disregard this sector. The study findings demonstrate wide gaps in knowledge about RNTCP guidelines among clinical faculties. The findings of the study should be an eye-opener for the health policy makers and program managers. Need of the hour is to train all private sector doctors in RNTCP and motivate them to comply with RNTCP guidelines.

Keywords

EN

tuberculosis; Medical College; Mantoux test; Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku
• Journal: Progress in Health Sciences
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 94-103

Contributors

author

RamBihariLal Shrivastava, S

author

Saurabh Shrivastava, P

author

Ramasamy, J