Hepatitis C education needs of rural general practitioners working in northern New South Wales.

Abstract

To assess hepatitis C continuing medical education (CME) needs of GPs working in rural northern New South Wales (NSW). Anonymous reply paid postal questionnaires sent to all 634 GPs working in northern NSW in August 2000 with a follow-up in September 2000. Data were analysed using descriptive and chi(2)statistics for association. Two hundred and ninety-two GPs replied (response rate 46.1%). Sixty-three per cent of respondents were aware of hepatitis C management protocols. Hepatitis C information was most accessed by reading written material (93%), attending seminars (63%) and using the protocol (57%). Rural GPs need to balance hepatitis C education with other competing topics. We found restricted access to CME in rural areas with GPs requesting a greater range of delivery modes. GPs have an increasing role in hepatitis C management. Hepatitis C CME must be balanced against GPs' patient load, interest and competing learning needs.