Tuberculosis prevention practices and perspectives of physicians in DeKalb County, GA

Knowing the reasons some physicians do not adhere to the disease prevention and treatment recommendations of expert committees can assist in the development of future recommendations more likely to be adopted by physicians. The authors describe the attitudes and practices of physicians relative to tuberculosis prevention in DeKalb County, GA. Tuberculosis is an important problem in the county, which includes part of the City of Atlanta, as well as suburban areas. Questionnaires for anonymous reply were mailed to 1,621 physicians in the county in 1991, and 848 (53 percent) were completed and returned. The final sample was 793 physicians, who were grouped into 5 specialty areas. Primary care physicians were the group most commonly involved in specific tuberculosis screening and prevention activities. Medical and pediatric specialists, surgeons, obstetricians-gynecologists, and other physicians were significantly less likely to be involved in such activities. Given that primary care physicians constitute a decreasing proportion of physicians in the United States, the findings suggest the importance of ensuring that future strategies for tuberculosis prevention take into account the increasingly specialized nature of the medical practice environment.