Knowledge and Compliance in Practices in Diagnosis and Treatment of Syphilis in Maternity Hospitals in Teresina - PI, Brazil

Objective To assess the knowledge and compliance of health professionals regarding the diagnostic and treatment practices for syphilis in patients admitted for childbirth in public maternity hospitals in the city of Teresina, in the state of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in 2015 with obstetricians and nurses working in the public maternity hospitals in Teresina (n = 159) using a self-administered questionnaire, with 5% of losses and 10% of refusals. The study used 21 evaluation criteria: 13 of them were related to knowledge (5 on serological tests and 8 on treatment adequacy); 8 were related to practices (3 on diagnosis, 4 on treatment, and 1 on post-test counseling). The knowledge of and compliance to the practices was estimated as the proportion of health professionals' answers that were in agreement with Brazilian Ministry of Health protocols. Results The obstetricians were in agreement with two criteria concerning the knowledge of serological tests, one for diagnostic practices, and one for treatment practice. Among nurses, no single match between actual procedures and guidelines was observed. Conclusions Low compliance with the protocols results in missed opportunities for the diagnosis and treatment of pregnant and postpartum women and their partners. Strategies for training and integrating the various professional groups, improved data recording on prenatal cards, and greater accountability of the hospital team in managing the women's partners are needed to overcome the barriers identified in the study and to interrupt the syphilis transmission chain.