PHARMACISTS` KNOWLEDGE ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS IN PRIMARY HEALTHCARE OF BELO HORIZONTE, MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL

Abstract

The pharmacist role involves working, in a strategic way, in tuberculosis control through patients’ followup treatment, and it is needed that this professional has an appropriate level of knowledge about those activities. The present study aimed to evaluate knowledge on tuberculosis by  pharmacists of Primary Health Care in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. It was a cross-sectional study through a semi-structured and selfadministered questionnaire. The research tool had items to evaluate knowledge in domains: tuberculosis, Directly Observed Treatment (DOTS), diagnosis, and treatment. It was observed that 53 (94,6%) pharmacists participated in the research. The proportion of right answers in questions about knowledge of tuberculosis`aspects ranged from 61.8% to 97.1%, with an average of 79.6%. The mean proportion of right answers was 79.6%, and 88.0%, 89.9%, 64.6%, 77.7% in the domains tuberculosis, DOTS, diagnosis and treatment, respectively. The pharmacists had mean proportions of right answers higher than 70% in the knowledge domains of tuberculosis, treatment, and DOTS. However, they had limitations in diagnosis and therapeutic schemes skills for the special groups.