Awareness of doctors as a component of medical determinant of public health (on the example of determining the level of knowledge of pediatricians about early diagnosis and treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy)

   Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare progressive neuromuscular disease that is diagnosed in early childhood and leads to a significant reduction in life expectancy. Based on clinical guidelines, the authors of this article developed a questionnaire for pediatricians to determine the knowledge of primary care physicians about early diagnosis and treatment of patients with this rare genetic disease.

   Material and methods. Using the method of quantitative sociological survey, we determined the awareness of pediatricians about a rare genetic disease. The basis for the quantitative analysis was data from an online survey with 609 respondents who were pediatricians.

   Results and its discussion. Less than half of the respondents (48 %) showed a high level of knowledge, were ready to diagnose the disease correctly, to carry out dispensary monitoring of patients. Every third respondent has knowledge that is insufficient to diagnose and manage patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Also, during the survey, the authors of the article found out the opinion of pediatricians about the sufficiency and/or insufficiency of their knowledge in the management of patients, as well as their preferences in channels for obtaining new information about this disease.

   Conclusions. Pediatricians play a major role in the early diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In this regard, the training of pediatricians in accordance with the new clinical guidelines should be included in the training and improvement of doctors’ knowledge. Addressing this issue could lead to significant clinical and economic benefits.

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