Analysis of knowledge, acceptance and willingness to manage tuberculosis preventive treatment among Chinese village doctors

Background: Village doctors played a crucial role in tuberculosis (TB) control in China. While scant attention has been paid to village doctors’ knowledge of TB preventive treatment (TPT), even less is known about their willingness to receive and manage it. Method: This study assessed their knowledge, acceptance, and willingness to manage TPT via a cross-sectional survey among village doctors in Zhongmu County, Henan. Self-designed questionnaires and interferon-γ release assays (IGRA) were used to assess factors associated with TPT knowledge, acceptance, and management willingness. Result: A total of 496 registered rural doctors were enrolled in this study, IGRA positivity rate was 21.2%, only 32.9% of rural doctors had good knowledge of TPT. Despite the generally low knowledge acquisition, 92.1% of the rural doctors were willing to accept TPT and 93.9% were willing to manage TPT, key concerns included side effects (70.4%), long treatment duration (41.6%), and efficacy doubts (38.3%). Male doctors had significantly higher knowledge scores than females (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Overall, knowledge of latent TB infection and TPT was low, but willingness was high. The IGRA result had no influence on village doctors’ knowledge of TPT, acceptance of TPT, or willingness to manage TPT. Education needs to be strengthened, especially for weak knowledge points, to improve prevention and control capacity.