Department of Medical Education, Community Medicine Residency Program, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Cairo University Kasr Alainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 31;17(3):e0265953. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265953. eCollection 2022.
In an era of globalization, travel-related illnesses have become a focus of public health concern, especially in the Arab region where travel health services are insufficient and not well-established. This study was conducted to assess travel vaccine and malaria chemoprophylaxis knowledge and associated predictors among primary care physicians (PCPs) in Qatar.
This was a cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from all physicians working at all 27 primary healthcare centers from March 1st to May 31st 2020. Knowledge scores were computed and a multivariable linear regression model was built to identify predictors of higher knowledge.
A total of 364 PCPs participated (response rate of 89.2%). Participants' mean age was 44.5 (±7.8) with 59.1% being males. Their overall mean knowledge score was 9.54/16 (±3.24). Significant predictors of higher knowledge included: aged 40-49 years (1.072; 95% CI: 0.230, 1.915), had medical degree from non-Arab countries (0.748; 95% CI: 0.065, 1.432), had training in TM (1.405; 95% CI: 0.407, 2.403), and provided ≥10 consultations/ month (2.585; 95% CI:1.294, 3.876). Online information was the main reported resource of travel medicine consultation.
The overall PCPs' mean percentage knowledge score of travel medicine was 59.6% (±20.3). A high volume of pretravel consultation, prior training, middle age group, and medical degree from non-Arab countries were significant predictors of higher knowledge. Continuing education and training provided by recognised international institutions for all PCPs is highly recommended to narrow the gap in travel medicine knowledge.
在全球化时代，与旅行相关的疾病已成为公共卫生关注的焦点，特别是在旅行卫生服务不足且尚未建立的阿拉伯地区。本研究旨在评估卡塔尔初级保健医生（PCP）对旅行疫苗和疟疾化学预防的知识和相关预测因素。
这是一项横断面研究。使用结构化问卷从 2020 年 3 月 1 日至 5 月 31 日收集所有在 27 个初级保健中心工作的医生的数据。计算知识得分，并建立多变量线性回归模型以确定较高知识的预测因素。
共有 364 名 PCP 参与（回应率为 89.2％）。参与者的平均年龄为 44.5（±7.8），其中 59.1％为男性。他们的总体平均知识得分为 16 分中的 9.54（±3.24）。较高知识的显著预测因素包括：年龄在 40-49 岁（1.072；95％CI：0.230，1.915），医学学位来自非阿拉伯国家（0.748；95％CI：0.065，1.432），接受过 TM 培训（1.405；95％CI：0.407，2.403），每月提供≥10 次咨询（2.585；95％CI：1.294，3.876）。在线信息是旅行医学咨询的主要报告资源。
总体而言，PCP 的旅行医学知识平均百分比得分为 59.6％（±20.3）。高咨询量、先前的培训、中年组和来自非阿拉伯国家的医学学位是知识水平较高的重要预测因素。强烈建议所有 PCP 参加由知名国际机构提供的继续教育和培训，以缩小旅行医学知识方面的差距。
