An assessment of barangay health midwives' knowledge regarding tuberculosis case finding and treatment procedures in urban health centers of metropolitan Manila, Philippines.

ABSTRACT

A survey was done from August to September, 1992 to determine the level of knowledge of 48 barangay health midwives (BHW) from urban health centers in Metropolitan Manila with regards to tuberculosis case finding and treatment procedures, as recommended by the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP) of the Department of Health. Questionnaires were administered by personal interview. A cut-off mark of 17 correct answers out of 23 or 74% was arbritrarily chosen to signify a satisfactory level of knowledge. Results revealed that a substantial proportion of midwives still have inadequate knowledge regarding casefinding, case holding and NTCP policies. Type of training (p < 0.01) and age (p < 0.05) were found to be significant factors affecting level of knowledge while length of service was found to be marginally insignificant (p = 0.06). It is therefore highly recommended that urban health midwives be subjected to more regular formal training to increase their level of competence in attaining the goals of the NTCP.