Kehkashan Mufti, Shahida Rasheed.
Awareness about `DOTS` amongst Medical Teachers of private and public sector Medical Colleges of Karachi.
Ann Abbasi Shaheed Hosp Karachi Med Dent Coll Jan ;7(2):337-41.

Objective: To assess knowledge of medical teachers belonging to private and public sector medical colleges of Karachi, regarding the widely accepted domiciliary treatment strategy of tuberculosis, that is `DOTS` - Directly Observed Treatment Short course. Methodology / Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study, the study population, comprised of teachers from three public and three private medical colleges, of the rank of demonstrators and assistant professors. A sample of 120 subjects were interviewed. Convenient Sampling was done as those faculty members who were present on the day were interviewed. The survey was conducted by a self administered questionnaire comprising of questions related to personal information, knowledge of DOTS, details of complications of tuberculosis, diagnosis and its treatment. The data collected was analyzed by using SPSS system. Results: Out of the 120 study subjects (60 from private and 60 from public sector medical colleges), 50 teachers (42%) had good knowledge regarding epidemiology, complications and diagnostic tests of tuberculosis, 42 (35%) teachers had average knowledge and 28 teachers (23%) had poor knowledge. Teachers from public and private sector medical colleges had a very striking difference. The teachers of private sector medical colleges / universities were mostly post-graduates, therefore had better scores as compared to Public sector teachers. The medical teachers who practiced in the evenings got higher scores as compared to non-practicing teachers. Conclusions: The medical teachers of private medical college were more aware and knowledgeable as compared to medical teachers of public sector college. The source of knowledge being a workshop or a seminar on tuberculosis treatment and prevention. For creating awareness and motivating the teachers / trainers of future doctors. Government or the national tuberculosis control program must emphasize on dissemination of knowledge through every media and source available in order to combat this highly infectious disease of our country.

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