Maghreb doctors need capacity building in epidemic investigation and control

Describe the training needs of young Maghreb doctors in epidemic management.

This is a study to quantify the need for medical training on "epidemic management". The study population was formed by residents and assistant professors of the French-speaking faculties of medicine in the Greater Maghreb, hospital-university professors, who were invited to respond to an online questionnaire. The "need" for learning a skill was defined by the perception of its importance, of its low coverage by the curricula and its poor mastery. A grid with 20 items, coded according to the Likert scale of 1 to 5 points, was specially developed for the measurement of need, retained beyond the thresholds of 45/90 points for the two dimensions "confirmation" and "investigation", 60/120 points for the "control" dimension, and 150/300 for the total sum.

A total of 121 young Maghreb doctors answered the questionnaire to assess the needs for learning epidemic management skills. The median overall scores for the chapters "importance", "coverage" and "performance" were 76, 40 and 48 respectively out of 100 points. The median scores for training "needs" were 54/90, 48/90 and 67/120 points, respectively, for the dimensions "confirmation", "investment" and "control", giving a global median score of 168 / 300.

Capacity building in epidemic management is a need felt by young Maghreb doctors, partially covered by current medical school programs, and consequently altering their professional performance.