Clinical trial NCT01515111: Guatemala Internal Medicine Physicians' Knowledge of Non-communicable Disease Clinical Preventive Services
Official title: Knowledge and Recommendations on Tobacco Cessation and Other Preventive Interventions Among Internal Medicine Staff in Guatemala Teaching Hospitals
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Non-communicable Diseases
Keywords: Non-communicable diseases
Preventive services
Medical education
Guatemala
Lead sponsor: Unidad de Cirugía Cardiovascular
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: International Development Research Centre, Canada
name: Washington University School of Medicine
First posted: 2012-01-23
Enrollment: 394
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Time perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Internal medicine interns, residents or attendings of any of the teaching hospitals in Guatemala.

Brief summary: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate recommendations on clinical preventive services and additional information on non-communicable disease prevention. Trained surveyors interviewed interns, residents and attendings of the Internal Medicine departments of all teaching hospitals in Guatemala. Analysis compared recommendation practices within and between hospitals.

Detailed description: A voluntary, anonymous, self-completed, cross-sectional survey was administered to all available internal medicine staff in Guatemalan teaching hospitals.

The questionnaire included: physician's demographics, work time dedicated to outpatients, knowledge of leading causes of death in Guatemala, guidelines used for non-communicable disease prevention, simulated cases asking for recommendation(s) on different preventive services for asymptomatic adults (i.e. whether they recommended them or not, appropriate frequency and starting age, preferred screening method, and availability of the service(s) at their hospital). The survey also assessed barriers faced in providing adequate services, and opinions on who should implement changes in national health care and in medical education.

The answers given by the internal medicine staff were compared with the United States Preventive Services Task Forces (USPSTF) Recommendations and Guatemalan Ministry of Health Guidelines.

Analysis compared recommendation practices within and between hospitals.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* All interns, internal medicine residents and attendings (including department director, unit directors and regular attendings) that are currently training or working in an Internal Medicine department in any of the ten teaching hospitals in Guatemala.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Staff that is on vacations, on sick leave or suspended by any reason.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Recommendations of clinical preventive services for non-communicable diseases.
timeFrame: After accepting to participate in the study, participants will be followed the time necesary to complete the structured questionnaire, an average of 1 hour.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Barriers faced in providing adequate services.
timeFrame: After accepting to participate in the study, participants will be followed the time necesary to complete the structured questionnaire, an average of 1 hour.
measure: Opinion on who should implement changes in clinical preventive services provision.
timeFrame: After accepting to participate in the study, participants will be followed the time necesary to complete the structured questionnaire, an average of 1 hour.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Antigua Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital Nacional Pedro Bethancourt
state: Sacatepequez
city: Escuintla
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital Nacional de Escuintla
city: Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital Universitario Esperanza
city: Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital Hermano Pedro
city: Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital Roosevelt
city: Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Unidad de Cirugía Cardiovascular
city: Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital Centro Médico Militar
city: Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital General San Juan de Dios
city: Guatemala
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital General de Enfermedad Común - IGSS
city: Quetzaltenango
country: Guatemala
facility: Hospital Regional de Occidente, San Juan de Dios
Study officials:
affiliation: Unidad de Cirugía Cardiovascular
name: Joaquin Barnoya, M.D. MPH.
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Corral JE, Arnold LD, Argueta EE, Ganju A, Barnoya J. Clinical preventive services in Guatemala: a cross-sectional survey of internal medicine physicians. PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e48640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048640. Epub 2012 Oct 31.