Assessing Knowledge of Zika Virus and a need for Continuous Medical Education (CME) in Post-Graduate Doctors of a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Single Center Experience

Abstract

Background:

The 2015-2016 Zika Virus Outbreak caused global concern. A study was done to assess knowledge about viral hemorrhagic fevers amongst healthcare professionals, which found only 57% doctors knew clinical features of hemorrhagic viral fever. The aim of this research was to assess the knowledge of physicians as well as the need for continuous medical education.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted on doctors working or undergoing postgraduate training in a private tertiary care hospital. A sample size of n=91 was reached after including most of the doctors working in these hospitals in the department of medicine, pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaire. Convenience sampling technique was employed. Informed oral consent was taken before administration of questionnaire. Analysis was done on SPSS version 20.

Results:

The doctors included in the study were from the departments of internal medicine, which were 46.2% (42), pediatrics, which were 19.8% (18), and gynecology and obstetrics. Only 17.6% (n=16) participants knew that the Zika virus can affect pregnant women in any trimester. If pregnant woman is infected only 65.9% (n=60) of all doctors were aware of the fact that it can cause microcephaly in the infants. Thus, 44% (n=40) of the participants demonstrated correct knowledge that Zika virus is associated with the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

Conclusion:

Our study determined that although many doctors demonstrated good knowledge regarding the clinical features of Zika virus, they had poor knowledge regarding the prevention of spread of disease.