The effect of WeChat-based training on improving the knowledge of tuberculosis management of rural doctors.

Background In China, rural doctors played a crucial role in TB cases referral and management. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of WeChat-based training program on improving the rural doctors' knowledge on TB management. Methods A One-year WeChat-based training was conducted among registered rural doctors from Zhongmu County, located in middle China, by means of releasing original contents (in forms of text, poster, video or cartoon) through WeChat subscription account (WeChat SA) once a week. Pre-and-post-training offline tests were hold using the same self-administered questionnaire to evaluate the training effect. Results A total of 467 rural doctor were included in the study. During the training, 60 original articles were posted through WeChat SA. With respect to the two tests, the median score increased from 50 (40.0-60.0) to 60 (53.0-70.0) (p < 0.001) after training. As compared with posters, the median readings were significantly higher for released contents in forms of text, video and cartoon (p < 0.001). Female's test performance improved better than male's. In addition, a positive relation was observed between education level and the test performance regardless of training. Conclusions Our results indicated that WeChat-based training improved the knowledge of rural doctors on TB management to a certain extent. It is worthy to explore more effective new media-based training methods to promote TB control in rural China.