Primary prevention of toxoplasmosis: knowledge and attitudes of health professionals and pregnant women of public service of Maringa, Parana state, Brazil <br><b>[Abstract in English]</b>
Keywords:
Toxoplasmosis/Prevention & Control, Pregnant Women, Primary Prevention, Disease Prevention, Health Education.Abstract
AIMS: To assess knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women and professionals of public health service about toxoplasmosis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted from January 2009 to January 2010 in basic health units in the city of Maringa, Parana state, included health professionals and pregnant women. Data on knowledge and attitudes regarding toxoplasmosis were collected using specific questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed by the BioStat 5.0. RESULTS: The study included 212 health professionals and 499 pregnant women. Among health professionals, 88.7% had doubts about the evolving forms of Toxoplasma gondii that infect humans. Among physicians, 69.7% did not know how to approach a pregnant woman with reactive Toxoplasma gondii-immunoglobulins M and G; 39.4% could not answer at what gestational age toxoplasmosis can be acquired, and 15.1% did not know which prevention guidelines should be given for pregnant women. Among pregnant women, 42.08% reported consuming raw meat, 13.63% reported consuming raw milk and 20.84% reported not washing utensils when switching food. Only 16.23% reported having received information about preventing toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: It is urgent to improve training of health professionals involved in caring for pregnant women on primary prevention of toxoplasmosis.Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright
The submission of originals to Scientia Medica implies the transfer by the authors of the right for publication. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. If the authors wish to include the same data into another publication, they must cite Scientia Medica as the site of original publication.
Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise specified, material published in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is correctly cited.