Strategy to sensitize private practitioners on RNTCP through medico-social workers in urban field practice area of a Medical College in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

BACKGROUND: India accounts for 25% of global TB burden and majority of TB patients seek care from private practitioners. It becomes imperative to involve private practitioners with newer strategies to strengthen the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP). A study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices among private practitioners with regards to tuberculosis case detection and referral and to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing existing medico-social worker of a medical college in sensitizing the private practitioners. METHODS: An intervention study was conducted during 2017. In an urban field practice area of a medical college, 34 allopathic private practitioners (PP) from six slums formed the study population. The RNTCP trained Medico social workers (MSW) of medical college provided repeated sensitization to private practitioners on case referrals. The data of KAP among private practitioners was collected. The output of repeated sensitization was measured by comparing the number of cases referred by Private Practitioners to DMC during the pre and post intervention period. RESULTS: Only 1 in 2 practitioners were aware about the duration of cough in presumptive TB cases. Nearly 44% of them were not aware about the first investigation of choice under RNTCP; 53% of the doctors did not know about the total number of sputum samples to be collected. After the sensitization of PPs by MSWs the number of presumptive pulmonary cases was increased by more than two folds. CONCLUSION: The strategy of utilizing the services of medico-social workers employed in a medical college to sensitize the private practitioners is feasible and has demonstrated the increase in number of presumptive TB case referrals to DMCs.