Knowledge about COVID-19 in family physicians recently graduated from the university

Abstract

The new coronavirus disease continues to plague humanity. Its deep knowledge is a necessity, as the only way to eradicate it. A quasi-experimental research type educational intervention was carried out with the aim of strengthening knowledge about COVID-19 in basic general practitioners recently graduated from the university and incorporated to practice as family doctors, belonging to the Jimmy Hirzel Polyclinic of Bayamo, Granma province. The sample was made up of 42 doctors, and it was characterized according to gender and academic index of the graduate. The level of knowledge was evaluated as adequate and inadequate, according to answers about generalities of the disease, clinical manifestations, diagnostic means and their interpretation, prevention measures and behavior to follow in suspicious and positive cases; source of knowledge acquisition was specified. Theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were used. As results, women (59.5%) predominated, and the graduate's academic index between 4 and 4.7 points (73.8%). Knowledge about the behavior to be followed by the family doctor with the vulnerable groups suspected of COVID-19 was inadequate in 69.1% of the doctors, a situation that was favorably modified with the educational intervention, reaching 85.7% adequate knowledge. In the rest of the topics, the adequate level of knowledge was highlighted from the initial stage of the research. It was concluded that the intervention made it possible to reveal the gaps in the knowledge of recently graduated doctors and to enhance it in all the topics addressed.