Wong William C W, Wong Samuel Y S, Lee Albert, Goggins William B
Department of Community and Family Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China PRC.
Am J Infect Control. 2007 Feb;35(1):50-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2006.06.009.
This study was designed to compare the response and management of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) by the family physicians of the Hong Kong and the Toronto health systems, and to provide evidence to improve health policy and practices in a newly emerging infectious disease.
A questionnaire was sent to family medicine tutors affiliated with either the Chinese University of Hong Kong or the University of Toronto in 2003. The survey questions covered training for SARS, the use of screening tools, an anxiety scale, clinical practices, and demographic data.
137 (74.8%) and 51 (34%) doctors from Hong Kong and Toronto replied to the questionnaire, respectively. Most (80-84.6%) had no training in infectious disease control and were not confident in dealing with SARS (68.1-73.5%). In Hong Kong, the screening tools provided by international agencies did not meet the local needs. In Toronto, lack of a centralized hospital admission policy and fully public laboratory probably resulted in appointment cancellation and dissatisfaction. There may be a need for deployment of personnel between institutions but loss of income was not a major concern.
Sharing the "lessons learned" in different regions during a SARS outbreak will help prepare for the next epidemic.
本研究旨在比较香港和多伦多医疗系统的家庭医生对严重急性呼吸综合征(SARS)的应对和管理情况,并为改善新出现的传染病的卫生政策和实践提供依据。
2003年向香港中文大学或多伦多大学附属的家庭医学导师发放了问卷。调查问题涵盖SARS培训、筛查工具的使用、焦虑量表、临床实践和人口统计学数据。
来自香港和多伦多的医生分别有137名(74.8%)和51名(34%)回复了问卷。大多数(80 - 84.6%)没有接受过传染病控制方面的培训,对处理SARS缺乏信心(68.1 - 73.5%)。在香港,国际机构提供的筛查工具不符合当地需求。在多伦多,缺乏集中的医院入院政策和完全公共的实验室可能导致预约取消和不满。可能需要在机构间调配人员,但收入损失不是主要问题。
在SARS疫情期间分享不同地区的“经验教训”将有助于为下一次疫情做好准备。