A cross-sectional survey of the awareness of pediatric medical personnel on tuberculosis prevention and control in Zhejiang province

Objective To investigate the awareness of pediatric medical personnel on tuberculosis prevention and control in Zhejiang province, and provide basement for formulating the strategy for prevention and treatment of pediatric tuberculosis and the tuberculosis training plan. Methods The anonymous online questionnaire of “The status of diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in childhood” includes three parts, the status of the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in children in medical institutions, the awareness of the new theory of tuberculosis, and the prevention and control of tuberculosis in students. A total of 1609 pediatric doctors and nursesfrom the general hospitals with pediatrics, children’s hospitals, maternal and child health hospitals, public health centers and community health service centers at all levels in zhejiang province were selected between March 31 to April 8, 2020. Of the 1609 questionnaires, 1199 were valid, the effective rate was 74.52%. Results Among the 1199 respondents, 524 (43.70%) had received tuberculosis knowledge training; 1148 (95.75%) considered that it was necessary to receive tuberculosis knowledge training, while 51 (4.25%) considered that it was unnecessary or irrelevant. “World Tuberculosis Day” was best known (73.31%, 879/1199), while the number of respondents who know “Tuberculosis classification (WS 196-2017)” was smallest (48.79%, 585/1199). The correct ratios of answers to the five questions including tuberculosis classification, pulmonary tuberculosis classification, diagnosis methods of tuberculosis, criteria of tuberculosis infection, as well as latent tuberculosis infection and the prevention and treatment for it were 17.76% (213/1199), 9.92% (119/1199), 36.78% (441/1199), 43.62% (523/1199) and 57.46% (689/1199), respectively. Of the respondents, only 134 (11.18%) knew “key points of student tuberculosis management”. There were 90.43% (737/815), 95.83% (781/815) and 94.11% (767/815) of the pediatricians supported whether new students need tuberculosis screening, whether close contact classmates need to be screened by tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD), and whether pediatricians need to participate in prevention and control of tuberculosis in studentswhile the rates in nurses were 92.71% (356/384), 95.83% (368/384) and 94.27% (362/384), respectively. Conclusionediatric medical personnel had high awareness of prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in students; however, the awareness of tuberculosis prevention and treatment policies and the knowledge of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment were not satisfactory. Pediatric medical personnel should strengthen the training of tuberculosis prevention and control, improve the diagnosis and treatment level, and actively participate the prevention and control of tuberculosis in children.