Introduction

In 2009 tuberculosis (TB) was reported as the second most common infectious cause of death worldwide. In the same year approximately 9.2 million new cases of TB and 1.7 million associated deaths occurred, primarily in the developing world [1,2]. Control of the disease has been highlighted as a priority for the World Health Organization (WHO) and as such is a key component of the Millennium Development Goal 6.

A clear example of the concerning state of TB control is Peru, which in 2011 recorded 15% of all reported TB cases in the region of the Americas. Additionally it was the country with the largest total number of reported cases of Mulit-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the region [3]. With an incidence rate of 109.7 per 100,000 (2011), each year Peru has more than 30,000 new cases of TB [4]. Within Peru, the concentration of the disease is highest in the country’s capital, Lima. Here approximately 58% of the country’s TB cases, 82% of MDR-TB cases and 93% of the country’s Extremely Drug Resistant (XDR-TB) cases reside [4,5].

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) has now become the accepted standard for TB treatment throughout the world, and has been applied in Peru with relative success since the 1990s [6]. A standard DOT program will involve the administration of TB antibiotics to patients under the direct observation of health program staff. Unfortunately with the appearance of MDR-TB the fight against TB in Peru has become more difficult and the reduction in reported cases apparent in the nineties has slowed [6,7].

Building on the DOT programs, governing bodies have agreed that the most effective procedures for reducing prevalence, drug-resistance and treatment abandonment for TB involve opportune diagnosis reinforced with an efficient system of reporting, follow-up and new case identification [7–9]. With this in mind it is important to note that the effective performance of patient-managed care programs are often reliant on the number, distribution, knowledge, skills and levels of motivation and competence of supporting health personnel [10].

Additionally the WHO has estimated that, of the five main obstacles to the expansion of DOT and the successful development of local and national programs, four are directly human resource related [9]. As such if human resources are scarce or undevdeveloped the diagnosis and appropriate management of patients with TB and their contacts will be weakened.

For this reason, it is necessary to conduct assessments of the knowledge and attitudes about TB amongst front-line health personnel in charge of TB care, in order to identify potential problems, limitations and areas for improvement. Front-line TB health personnel in this context can be defined as health personnel who form the primary contact point amongst the community for accessing the national TB control program. They may include medical doctors, nurses, nurse technicians, community health workers (health promoters) and other allied health personnel. For this study we broadened this term to include laboratory staff, given their integral role in primary TB services.

Front-line TB personnel in Peru receive mixed forms and levels of training depending on their position within the health system. Doctors must complete at lesat 6 years of higher education, a 1-3 year period of residence/specialisation and a year of rural service, nurses and biologists (lab staff) must study for 4 years along with the completion of a thesis and additionally nurses must complete a year as an intern and a year of rural service in order to practice in the national health program. Technical staff including nursing and laboratory staff usually complete at least 3 years of study often from private institutions of varied quality and 6 months internship in a hospital. Health promoters are community members working voluntarily or semi-voluntarily, who are trained for a period of at least 2 weeks in various primary care and promotional activities. The role of the health promoter involves the provision of primary care services throughout the community and often forms the first contact point between the community and access to the public health system.

We conducted a comprehensive survey of firstly, knowledge of front-line TB health personnel working in the Peruvian National TB control program in order to ascertain knowledge gaps in key areas relating to tuberculosis control and prevention; and secondly, of front-line TB personnel attitudes towards current themes facing the Peruvian national TB control program. It was hoped that with greater understanding of the gaps which face these two areas of TB control it may be possible to contribute to strengthening the National TB control program and, of global significance, provide insights into the issues which face front-line TB personnel in other high TB and MDR-TB burdened areas.

Methods

A Spanish language, multiple choice survey (available as Information S1) was created based on previous studies [11–16] and the national guidelines for the diagnostics and treatment of TB [17]. Each survey contained 48 questions divided into three sections: participant demographics, tuberculosis knowledge, and attitudes about tuberculosis and corresponding issues facing Peru. Demographics detailed important considerations about the participant which were thought to have a role in knowledge of and attitudes towards TB such as age, gender, reported profession, TB specific training and disease status of participants and people they live with. Professions were divided into medical doctor, nurse, nurse technician, health promoter and ‘others’ (which encompassed all other front-line TB workers such as laboratory staff). The knowledge section contained 15 questions and was again divided into three sections: epidemiology and transmission of TB (5 questions), diagnostics of TB (3 questions), and treatment of TB (7 questions). Answers were established as either correct or incorrect, but participant’s indicating more than one choice for a question or if a question was left unanswered were marked as incorrect. The survey was first piloted then revised in August 2011 to front-line TB nurses in non-study areas of Lima.

The attitudes section contained 21 questions covering topics relating to the quality and level of education of health personnel in the national tuberculosis control program, the level of education relating to tuberculosis and its treatment in the community, access and barriers to access for treatment, resources devoted to the national tuberculosis control program, treatment adherence and local tuberculosis control program priorities. Attitudes were recorded using a 5-point Likert scale.

The study was applied in the two health networks in Lima, Peru (San Martin de Porres-Rimac-Los Olivos and Lima) in areas of high TB incidence, including 16 districts of high incidence representing 37% of the population of Lima [4]. From these two networks 301 health personnel from 66 government health centres participated. Health centres cover a wide range of services including primary care, preventative services and diagnostic testing and are often the first point of contact for suspected tuberculosis patients within the national control program. The health centres also play an important role in TB education and prevention activities amongst the community.

The survey was conducted from September 2011-February 2012. Only health care personnel who at the time were working in the national tuberculosis control program were considered for the study. The national program was selected as large proportion of the TB response in Lima is provided by public institutions. As an example it was reported that in 2010 approximately 56% of sympotomatic patients sought national TB control program establishments for diagnostics. Additionally 76% of TB diagnosis occurred in national control program establishments [18].

Ethics approval was given by the human subjects committees of the National Institute of Health in Lima, Peru and all participants were first given a detailed explanation of the questionnaire and its motives and were then guaranteed anonymity and informed that participation was entirely voluntary. Following verbal consent the survey was administered on the same day wherever possible.

Results

Discussion

In agreement with a previous study [16], it has been shown that serious gaps exist in the knowledge of front-line TB personnel about TB in highly endemic areas of Lima, Peru. This mirrors findings from other developing countries facing similar TB burdens. Two surveys surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of TB in urban areas of Kenya showed that doctors were often not aware of the correct diagnosis and treatment procedures for dealing with TB patients [19,20]. Although in a rural setting, Vietnamese health care providers showed a low (67%) knowledge score using a similarly structured survey [14]. Comparisons such as these show that low TB knowledge scores among health personnel are not isolated to Peru but endemic in other high burden areas. The importance of this is outlined below.

As has been shown elsewhere [16] the consequences of inadequate TB treatment are of serious concern for the Peruvian national TB control program. Given the nature of MDR-TB it is reasonable to assume that under or mis-education about the disease can result in case complications and this in turn may lead to drug resistance [21]. As such the low knowledge rates among participants in questions relating to both inadequate treatment outcomes and MDR-TB classification should be highlighted as a key area for intervention.

Questions relating to the frequency of follow up sputum tests may show that knowledge of national TB standards and guidelines is poor. This should be considered an area for future improvement amongst front-line TB personnel and the national TB program as a whole. Equally, low knowledge of TB risk factors should be further investigated. Increasingly it is being shown that TB burdens are significantly heightened by a variety of risk factors as the disease is frequently accompanied by HIV, diabetes and malnutrition [22]. As such further steps to strengthen education surrounding identification and prevention of accompanying risk factors may contribute to the national TB control program in Peru and elsewhere.

In line with the findings of Kiefer et al [16] a significant proportion of front-line TB personnel were unaware that not all people infected with the TB bacterium develop symptoms. This misconception combined with the gap in knowledge relating to TB risk factors creates an area of concern given the integral role which front-line TB personnel play in relating information about the disease throughout the community.

The views taken by the front-line TB personnel in relation to TB are highly pertinent both to Peru and the global fight against TB. As it is front-line personnel who gain firsthand experience confronting the disease, often on a daily basis, they may be best able to identify unique bottlenecks to improved TB control. As such the consensus found in this study relating to the need for greater community involvement may be taken into account when reviewing disease control programs both in Lima and abroad. The perceived lack of understanding amongst TB patients relating to the non-completion of treatment may show a need for greater community involvement in national program design. This sentiment is reinforced by the positive response from study participants about the need for community involvement in the national TB program. Equally the discord amongst personnel relating to access to both sufficient laboratory services and personnel to cover the needs of patients may indicate an inequitable distribution of TB resources in the National TB program. The ‘others’ group, of which a large proportion was made up of laboratory staff, agreed more strongly on the inadequacy of laboratory services. These people may have unique insights into the current situation of laboratory services indicating a greater need than is perceived by the rest of the TB workforce. Health promoters’ lower perception that patients were accepting of current treatment methods could indicate a more sensitized view of the current sentiment within the community. As health promoters’ primary responsibility is community integration they may be able to more accurately demonstrate the current opinion of the community. These remain areas for further research.

Two limitations to this study were noted. Firstly the cross-sectional design and limited study area meant that the knowledge and attitudes of personnel may not be representative of those at the national level. Taking this into account the number of TB personnel covered within the study region are highly representative as a proportion of the total front-line TB personnel in Lima. Additionally similar findings from other studies in both rural and urban sectors add weight to the results [16,19–21]. Secondly, while all attempts were made to provide the best possible environment in which to undertake this survey, Peruvian TB personnel are both critically short of time and extremely dedicated to their patients, both factors that leave little time for surveys, so in other more controlled environments knowledge and attitude responses may have slightly differed.

This study confirms findings from similar studies in both Lima, Peru, and similarly TB affected countries. While further investigation is needed into the nuances surrounding front-line TB worker knowledge and factors that affect it, it is clear that gaps exist and that efforts must be made in order to reinforce and support health personnel. Additionally consensus and disagreement in attitudes amongst front-line TB personnel present important areas of further research which may have the potential to highlight unique problems systemic in National TB control programs. There are problems which front-line TB personnel may be best able to identify, and addressing these may increase the effectiveness and quality of global TB control efforts both in Peru and throughout the world.

Supporting Information

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the participation of health personnel and community health workers from Direccion de Salud V Lima Ciudad, Peruvian Ministry of Health. Personnel from Socios En Salud Surcusal Peru and Projecto Epi for their continued support. To Samuel Donovan, Amy Beeson and José Davila. Finally to John Minnery for editing the final manuscript.