Evaluation of parasitic diseases prevention and control abilities of professional technicians in Shandong Province based on competition / 中华地方病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To understand the knowledge and skills of professional technicians in prevention and control of parasitic diseases in Shandong Province, and to provide a basis for further capacity building.Methods:On October 12 and 13, 2017, five professional technicians from each of 17 prefectures and cities in Shandong Province participated in the "Shandong Province Parasitic Diseases Prevention and Control Job Skills Competition in 2017". This competition included theoretical knowledge examination (written test) and operation skill examination (operation test). The written test included basic knowledge of parasites life history, pathogen, diagnosis, epidemic and prevention; the operation test included blood smear making, Kato-Katz thick smear making, microscopic examination of Plasmodium and Helminth eggs. The competition results of the competitors were statistically analyzed, and the pass rate, correct answer rate and accuracy of microscopic examination were calculated. According to the report of malaria cases from 2010 to 2017, 17 prefectures and cities in Shandong Province were divided into malaria classⅠreport area (≥100 cases) and malaria classⅡreport area (< 100 cases), and the competition results of the two types of areas were compared. Results:A total of 85 competitors in Shandong Province participated in the competition, including 19 males (22.35%) and 66 females (77.65%); the age was (34.67±6.04) years old, the youngest was 25 years old, and the oldest was 51 years old. The scores of written test and operation test were (67.06±12.73) and (59.31±14.23) points, respectively, and the difference between them was statistically significant ( t=4.949, P < 0.01). The pass rate of written test was 74.12% (63/85); the correct answer rates of morphology, life history, pathogenicity, diagnosis, epidemic and prevention were 71.76% (366/510), 71.61% (913/1 275), 67.94% (462/680), 71.18% (847/1 190), 66.91% (455/680) and 65.76% (1 062/1 615), respectively, there was statistically significant difference in the correct answer rates of different knowledge points (χ 2=18.185, P < 0.01). The pass rate of operation test was 55.29% (47/85); among them, the pass rates of blood smear making, Kato-Katz thick smear making, microscopic examination of Plasmodium and Helminth eggs were 98.82% (84/85), 98.82% (84/85), 70.59% (60/85) and 31.76% (27/85), respectively. Four Plasmodium species were examined, and the overall accuracy of microscopic examination was 61.41% (261/425), there was no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of microscopic examination between different Plasmodium species (χ 2=4.791, P > 0.05). Nine common Helminth eggs were examined, and the overall accuracy of microscopic examination was 47.29% (402/850), there was statistically significant difference in the accuracy of microscopic examination between different Helminth eggs (χ 2=180.064, P < 0.01). The scores [(28.27±3.74) and (23.20±3.39) points, n=30] of microscopic examination of Plasmodium and Helminth eggs in the malaria classⅠ report area were higher than those in the malaria classⅡreport area [(22.40±5.81) and (18.25±3.41) points, n=55], and the differences were statistically significant ( t=2.217, 2.860, P < 0.05). Conclusions:For professional technicians, the mastery of theoretical knowledge in prevention and control of parasitic diseases is better than operation skills in Shandong Province. So the training and assessment of prevention and control skills of parasitic diseases should be strengthened in areas with weak abilities.