Health Care Providers’ Knowledge of Tuberculosis and Diabetes Mellitus Comorbidity in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Figures & data

Table 1 Distribution of Health Care Providers by Socio-Demographics Characteristics

	N= 113	Percentage
Sex
Female	49	43.4
Male	64	56.4
Age (year)
< 25	13	11.5
30–39	53	46.9
40–49	25	22.1
>50	22	19.5
Professional category
Nurse	39	34.5
Medical doctor	41	36.3
Pharmacist	6	5.3
Community health workers	15	13.3
Laboratory technician	6	5.3
Others	6	5.3

Figure 1 Assessment of the level of knowledge about TB and DM.

Table 2 Comparison of Correct Responses of TB by Health Care Providers

	Medical Doctor n=41	No Medical Doctor n=72	p
1. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease	38 (92.7%)	67 (93.1%)	0.94
2. Anyone who contracts the TB germ can develop the disease	28 (68.3%)	22 (30.6%)	0.001
3. Tuberculosis is sometimes diagnosed only by a chest x-ray	22 (53.7%)	19 (26.4%)	0.004
4. Three sputum samples are needed to diagnose tuberculosis	14 (34.1%)	17 (23.6%)	0.23
5. Two bacteriological examinations are required for bacteriological evaluation of a microscopy-positive TB patient	5 (12.2%)	17 (23.6%)	0.22
6. OCT should be initiated as soon as the TB patient is diagnosed as positive	34 (82.9%)	57 (79.2%)	0.63
7. A 6-month course of treatment is recommended for all TB patients	12 (29.3%)	11 (15.3%)	0.08
8. Certain population groups such as diabetics require special management for TB control	30 (73.2%)	40 (55.6%)	0.06
9. Active detection of index cases is part of curative TB control methods	6 (14.6%)	15 (20.8%)	0.42
10. The fastest possible treatment of the tuberculosis patient and his or her hospitalization ensure better control of the tuberculosis infection	10 (24.4%)	13 (18.1%)	0.42

Table 3 Comparison of Correct Responses of TB by Facility Level

	Level 3 n= 31	Level 2 n= 82	p
1. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease	29 (93.5%)	76 (92.7%)	0.87
2. Anyone who contracts the TB germ can develop the disease	18 (58.1%)	32 (39.0%)	0.07
3. Tuberculosis is sometimes diagnosed only by a chest x-ray	12 (38.7%)	29 (35.4%)	0.74
4. Three sputum samples are needed to diagnose tuberculosis	10 (32.3%)	21 (25.6%)	0.48
5. Two bacteriological examinations are required for bacteriological evaluation of a microscopy-positive TB patient	5 (16.1%)	17 (20.7%)	0.58
6. OCT should be initiated as soon as the TB patient is diagnosed as positive	29 (93.5%)	62 (75.6%)	0.032
7. A 6-month course of treatment is recommended for all TB patients	8 (25.8%)	15 (18.3%)	0.38
8. Certain population groups such as diabetics require special management for TB control	19 (61.3%)	51 (62.2%)	0.23
9. Active detection of index cases is part of curative TB control methods	4 (12.9%)	17 (20.7%)	0.34
10. The fastest possible treatment of the tuberculosis patient and his or her hospitalization ensure better control of the tuberculosis infection	8 (25.8%)	15 (18.3%)	0.38

Table 4 Comparison of Correct Responses of DM by Health Care Providers

	Medical Doctor n=41	No Medical Doctor n=72	p
1. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with no treatment to date	17 (41.5%)	29 (40.3%)	0.90
2. Diabetes mellitus is a contagious disease	41 (100.0%)	66 (91.7%)	0.60
3. Poorly controlled diabetes mellitus increases the risk of contracting tuberculosis	26 (63.4%)	22 (30.6%)	0.01
4. High calorie food intake and lack of regular exercise are risk factors for the development of diabetes mellitus	34 (82.9%)	55 (76.4%)	0.41
5. Obesity is also considered a modifiable risk factor for the development of diabetes mellitus	39 (95.1%)	67 (93.1%)	0.66
6. A hereditary and/or collateral history of diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for developing the disease	40 (97.6%)	69 (95.8%)	0.63
7. Diabetes mellitus can be diagnosed only by the following symptoms: polyuria. polydipsia	25 (61.0%)	26 (36.1%)	0.011
8. A patient with a random blood glucose level of more than 200 mg/dl may be considered diabetic	21 (51.2%)	44 (61.1%)	0.31
9. HbA1c measurement can be used for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus	37 (90.2%)	43 (59.7%)	0.0001
10. The discovery of diabetes mellitus may occur in an asymptomatic patient with existing complications of diabetes mellitus	36 (87.8%)	61 (84.7%)	0.65
11. Poor management of diabetes mellitus in a patient with diabetes mellitus-tuberculosis comorbidity may lead to an unfavourable outcome of antituberculosis treatment	34 (82.9%)	41 (56.9%)	0.005

Table 5 Comparison of Correct Responses of DM by Facility Level

	Level 3 n=31	Level 2 n=82	p
1. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with no treatment to date	13 (41.9%)	33 (40.2%)	0.87
2. Diabetes mellitus is a contagious disease	31 (100.0%)	76 (92.7%)	0.12
3. Poorly controlled diabetes mellitus increases the risk of contracting tuberculosis	19 (61.3%)	29 (35.4%)	0.013
4. High calorie food intake and lack of regular exercise are risk factors for the development of diabetes mellitus	21 (67.7%)	68 (82.9%)	0.08
5. Obesity is also considered a modifiable risk factor for the development of diabetes mellitus	29 (93.5%)	77 (93.9%)	0.94
6. A hereditary and/or collateral history of diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for developing the disease	30 (96.8%)	79 (96.3%)	0.91
7. Diabetes mellitus can be diagnosed only by the following symptoms: polyuria. polydipsia	17 (54.8%)	34 (41.5%)	0.20
8. A patient with a random blood glucose level of more than 200 mg/dl may be considered diabetic	18 (58.1%)	47 (57.3%)	0.94
9. HbA1c measurement can be used for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus	28 (90.3%)	52 (63.4%)	0.005
10. The discovery of diabetes mellitus can be made in an asymptomatic patient with existing complications of diabetes mellitus	27 (87.1%)	70 (85.4%)	0.81
11. Poor management of diabetes mellitus in a patient with diabetes mellitus-tuberculosis comorbidity may lead to an unfavourable outcome of anti-tuberculosis treatment	24 (77.4%)	51 (62.2%)	0.13

Figure 2 Comparison of the average knowledge score among health care providers.

Figure 3 Comparison of the average knowledge score between 2nd and 3rd level health facility.

Figure 4 Comparison of the average knowledge score by job tenure.