title: Diarrhoea-related knowledge and practice of physicians in urban slums of Kolkata, India.
abstract: Diarrhoeal management practices are unsatisfactory in India especially in the slum areas. Dearth of information regarding physicians' diarrhoea-related knowledge and practice in India necessitated this cross-sectional study of allopathic practitioners in the slums of Kolkata, to assess the distribution and interrelationship between physicians' characteristics, knowledge and practice regarding diarrhoea. A total of 264 randomly selected consenting practitioners were interviewed using a field-tested questionnaire. Nineteen percent had good overall knowledge, 49% and 80% prescribed antibiotics to diarrhoea and cholera patients, respectively, and 55% advised stool examination for every case. Qualified and Government physicians had better knowledge regarding diarrhoea [MBBS: odds ratio (OR) 5·96, P < 0·001; postgraduates: OR 9·33, P < 0·001; Government physicians: OR 11·49, P < 0·0001] and were less likely to prescribe antibiotics for all diarrhoea cases (MBBS: OR 0·30, P = 0·002; postgraduates: OR 0·20, P < 0·001; Government physicians OR 0·24, P < 0·029). Better knowledge was associated with a lower likelihood of prescribing antibiotics for diarrhoea (OR 0·72, P < 0·001), cholera (OR 0·78, P = 0·027) and investigative procedure (OR 0·85, P = 0·028). In the slums of Kolkata, diarrhoea-related knowledge and practice were poor with the exception of qualified physicians, hence an improvement in the knowledge of pharmacists and unqualified practitioners is necessary for the overall improvement of diarrhoeal management in these slums.
authors: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Epidemiology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Kanungo
authors: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Epidemiology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Mahapatra
authors: International Vaccine Institute, SNU Research Park, Division of Data Management, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Bhaduri
authors: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Epidemiology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Mahapatra
authors: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Epidemiology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: N D
authors: ND
authors: Chakraborty
authors: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Epidemiology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Manna
authors: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Epidemiology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Sur
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D011204:Poverty Areas; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
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