Knowledge of family health program practitioners in Brazil about sickle cell disease: a descriptive, cross-sectional study
2011

Knowledge of Family Health Program Practitioners in Brazil about Sickle Cell Disease

Sample size: 96 publication 10 minutes Evidence: low

Author Information

Author(s): Gomes Ludmila MX, Vieira Magda M, Reis Tatiana C, Barbosa Thiago LA, Caldeira Antônio P

Primary Institution: State University of Montes Claros

Hypothesis

What is the level of knowledge about sickle cell disease among physicians and nurses in Brazil's Family Health Program?

Conclusion

Primary health care professionals in Brazil have inadequate knowledge about sickle cell disease, indicating a need for improved training.

Supporting Evidence

  • 59.4% of participants were nurses and 40.6% were physicians.
  • The mean performance in knowledge tests was below 75%.
  • A statistically significant association was found between knowledge and family health care qualifications.

Takeaway

Doctors and nurses in Brazil don't know enough about sickle cell disease, which means they might not be able to help kids with it very well.

Methodology

Descriptive, cross-sectional study using a questionnaire with 47 questions to assess knowledge of sickle cell disease among health care professionals.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to the self-reported nature of knowledge assessment and the limited geographical scope of the study.

Limitations

The study was limited to one municipality and used a partially tested questionnaire, which may not fully represent the knowledge of all health care professionals.

Participant Demographics

{"gender":{"male":28,"female":68},"age":{"median":29,"range":"22-59"},"marital_status":{"married_or_stable_relationship":52,"single_divorced_widower":44},"children":{"none":56,"1-2":35,"3_or_more":5}}

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.015

Confidence Interval

95%CI 1.23 to 9.23

Statistical Significance

p = 0.015

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2296-12-89

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