title: [An educational intervention to improve the quality of coproparasitological diagnosis in laboratories of Havana City, Cuba]
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program carried out in 1993. The intervention took place after the first external quality assessment in coproparasitology, conducted in 77 laboratories of Havana City. Centers receiving training were compared with those that did not, and better results were obtained in the municipalities of 10 de Octubre, Plaza, and Cerro, as well as in all laboratories that sent people to training. Better diagnosis was found for the helminths Trichuris trichiura, Taenia sp., and Fasciola hepatica as well for the protozoans Blastocystis hominis and Endolimax nana in the laboratories that received training. The laboratories that received training had significantly higher scores than those which did not. The results point to the effectiveness of the educational intervention. We recommend external quality assessment in coproparasitology as well as ongoing, mandatory technical education, held at regular intervals. Such measures should assure steady improvement in diagnosis of intestinal parasites by the health services network.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kourí. Autopista Novia del Mediodía Km 8, entre Carretera Central y Autopista de Pinar del Río, Apartado Postal 601, La Lisa, Ciudad Habana, Cuba.
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Núñez
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Ginorio
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cordoví
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Finlay
vernacular_title: Intervención educativa para mejorar la calidad del diagnóstico coproparasitológico en la red de salud de Ciudad Habana, Cuba