Impact of educational short messages on the level of knowledge on prevention and early detection of tuberculosis from pharmacies in two districts of Peru

This study aimed to evaluate the change in the level of knowledge that pharmacy workers have about tuberculosis after an educational intervention based on sending short message service (SMS) and WhatsApp messages. A prospective study was conducted on a random sample of pharmacies and drugstores in two districts of Lima and Chiclayo using SMS messages. Different stages of preparation (pilot study) of text messages, pre-testing, and content evaluation; implementation and selection of pharmacies; and evaluation of an exit survey to measure the variation in knowledge about tuberculosis were carried out. A total of 132 respondents were surveyed in the final stage, with a median age of 27 years (IQR: 23 to 30); 78.46% were female. Regarding knowledge about epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment at baseline, the average correct answers were 66.33%, 62.22%, and 54.44%, respectively. Of the total, only 45.45% had a score above the 55th percentile of correct scores. Changes were found in the prevention knowledge score (72.55 vs. 66.33, p = 0.027) in the group that read the messages. There were differences in the overall knowledge level of those who read the messages (p = 0.034). In conclusion, pharmacy workers have adequate knowledge about tuberculosis, but significant gaps persist in their knowledge regarding treatment. The level of TB knowledge of pharmacy and pharmacy staff improved after an SMS text message-based intervention.