Abstract
BackgroundHealthcare providers (HCPs) play a critical role in controlling the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI) through early and accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment and prevention counselling. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention about STI on knowledge and reported practice among HCPs and to explore which determinants may influence the intervention’s effects.MethodsA cluster randomized controlled educational intervention was carried out in a rural district, Vietnam. 32 communes of the district were randomized into two arms, with 160 HCPs in an STI intervention arm and 144 in a control arm. The STI intervention comprised interactive training with basic STI knowledge, case scenarios, and poster distribution. Questionnaires to evaluate knowledge and reported practice were completed three times: before, during and after the intervention. Correct answer was scored as 1; “do not know”, incorrect answer was scored as 0. Univariate and multilevel multivariate analyses were applied.ResultsOf the maximum 56 points, the mean knowledge score increased significantly in the STI intervention arm and in the control arm post-intervention (37.2 to 48.4, and 32.7 to 41.7, respectively). In multivariate regression analysis, knowledge improvement in the intervention arm was significantly higher than that in the control arm (regression coefficient = 2.97, p = 0.008). Other factors which positively influenced the increase in knowledge were being between 35 and 50 years old, having intermediate professional training, being a pharmacist or working at a village level (regression coefficient: 2.81, 4.43, 5.53 and 7.91, respectively). Post-intervention, the mean reported practice score increased significantly in the STI intervention arm (from 17.6 to 21.8) and insignificantly in the control arm (maximum 36 points). Factors which positively influenced the increase in reported practice were being between 35 and 50 years old, having intermediate professional training, or working at a pharmacy/drugstore (regression coefficient: 2.15, 3.33 and 3.22, respectively).ConclusionsThis study indicates that an educational intervention including interactive training and multi-faceted interventions may be effective in improving STI knowledge and reported practice of HCPs at grassroots level, particularly among pharmacists, HCPs who work in villages or pharmacies/drugstores, and who initially have low STI knowledge.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0646-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Healthcare providers (HCPs) play a critical role in controlling the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI) through early and accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment and prevention counselling
There were no significant differences in socio-demographic characteristics between the HCPs in the STI intervention arm and control arm (p > 0.05)
Intervention and STI knowledge In general, for almost all questions on STI knowledge, the proportion of correct answers increased significantly in both arms, HCPs from the STI intervention arm showed a greater increase than their colleagues in the control arm
Summary
Healthcare providers (HCPs) play a critical role in controlling the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI) through early and accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment and prevention counselling. Improved case management of STI has been scientifically proven to reduce the incidence of HIV infection in the general population [3,4]. It has been shown that healthcare providers (HCPs) play an important role in reducing the burden of STI through effective prevention and management [9]. Studies have shown positive impact of continuing medical education or educational interventions on improvement of HCPs’ knowledge and/or practices [10,11], STI management [12,13] and patient outcomes [14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
