Avaliação dos conhecimentos básicos sobre afecções oculares na criança entre os médicos do Programa Saúde da Família - Belém-Pa

Abstract

A child’s vision is presumably the most important source of interaction with the environment itself, thus it is crucial to its healthy development. Data from the World Health Organization show that worldwide 20 million patients are affected with blindness and that 2/3 of these cases are resulted from a preventable cause. In this scenario, assessing how much Medical Doctors working in PSF, understand the visual disturbances most prevalent in childhood turns out to be essential, and it is therefore the objective of this paper. A questionnaire, that contained personal information followed by 10 questions about such visual disturbances, was then distributed amongst PSF’s physicians that work in the city of Belém and Icoaraci (Pará State), throughout the months of April/06 and February/07. After analysis of such answers, a conceptual-classification was attributed according to the number of right answers to the given questions. The great majority of physicians, 65% (n=44), obtained an insufficient grade (ranging between 0-4 correct answers), 22% (n=15) were below the average (5- 6 correct answers), 12% (n=8) had a regular concept (7-8 correct answers) and only 1% (n=1) had an above the average performance (9-10 correct answers). Accordingly, the authors agree that the expected knowledge regarding the ophthalmologic arena among the physicians working in the PSF is far beyond the expected. It must be highlighted, nevertheless, that the responsibility for the prevention lies in the hands of both ophthalmologist and general practitioners. That said, it is urgent to re-study the given priorities of the Ophthalmology classes in Medicine school curricula, and also to stimulate case discussions and updating seminaries to spread such knowledge throughout the deficient professionals working in the medical area.