Will private general practitioners alter their knowledge, attitude and practice towards counselling and performing cervical smears for their patients?

Abstract

Objective: To investigate if the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on cervical cancer screening of private general practitioners (GPs) can be modified by education. Design: A controlled cross-over trial of continuing medical education (CME). Subjects: 116 volunteer GPs in private practice who responded to a CME invitation were assigned to study (pap smear workshop, 60) and control (women's health workshop, 56) groups. Sixty-one were randomised while 55 were allocated by date of availability, before knowing which topic occurred on which dates. Main outcome measures: KAP results from self-administrated questionnaires before and 4 months after the workshop. Results: Ninety-four (81% of 116) attended the workshops (46 intervention and 48 controls). Among the 78 doctors (83% of 94) who completed both pre- and post-test questionnaires, while attitude was unchanged, knowledge (in 3 out of 8 items) and behaviour (self-reported Pap smear performing frequency and opportunistic advice for screening) were significantly improved only in the study group. Conclusion: Private GPs acquired more knowledge and reported positive changes in behaviour after an interactive CME workshop. More research is needed in how to maximise the screening capabilities of private GPs and thereby increase the screening rate for cervical cancer in Hong Kong.