“What do you know?”——knowledge among village doctors of lead poisoning in children in rural China

Ruixue Huang, Huacheng Ning, Carl R. Baum, Lei Chen, Allen Hsiao

This study evaluates the extent of village doctors' knowledge of lead poisoning in children in rural China and assesses the characteristics associated with possessing accurate knowledge. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey of 297 village doctors in Fenghuang County, Hunan Province, China was conducted. All village doctors were interviewed face-to-face using a "What do you know" test questionnaire focusing on prevention strategies and lead sources in rural children. A total of 287 (96.6%) village doctors completed the survey in full. Most village doctors had an appropriate degree of general knowledge of lead poisoning; however, they had relatively poor knowledge of lead sources and prevention measures. Village doctors with an undergraduate level education scored an average of 2.7 points higher than those who had a junior college level education (p = 0.033). Village doctors with an annual income ≤ 10,000 RMB yuan scored 1.03 points lower than those whose income was >10,001 RMB yuan. Ethnic Han village doctors scored 1.12 points higher, on average, than ethnic Tujia village doctors (p = 0.027). This study identified important gaps in knowledge concerning lead poisoning in children among a rural population of village doctors. There is a clear need for multifaceted interventions that target village doctors to improve their knowledge regarding lead poisoning in children. The "What do you know" questionnaire is a new tool to evaluate lead poisoning knowledge and education projects.