Mm. Braun et Pj. Wiesner, TUBERCULOSIS PREVENTION PRACTICES AND PERSPECTIVES OF PHYSICIANS IN DEKALB COUNTY, GA, Public health reports, 109(2), 1994, pp. 259-265
Knowing the reasons some physicians do not adhere to the disease preve
ntion and treatment recommendations of expert committees can assist in
the development of future recommendations more likely to be adopted b
y physicians. The authors describe the attitudes and practices of phys
icians relative to tuberculosis prevention in DeKalb County, GA. Tuber
culosis is an important problem in the county, which includes part of
the City of Atlanta, as well as suburban areas. Questionnaires for ano
nymous reply were mailed to 1,621 physicians in the county in 1991, an
d 848 (53 percent) were completed and returned. The final sample was 7
93 physicians, who were grouped into 5 specialty areas. Primary care p
hysicians were the group most commonly involved in specific tuberculos
is screening and prevention activities. Medical and pediatric speciali
sts, surgeons, obstetricians-gynecologists, and other physicians were
significantly less likely to be involved in such activities. Given tha
t primary care physicians constitute a decreasing proportion of physic
ians in the United States, the findings suggest the importance of ensu
ring that future strategies for tuberculosis prevention take into acco
unt the increasingly specialized nature of the medical practice enviro
nment.