Survey of Tanzanian Pediatricians on Rare Disease Knowledge and Challenges

168 pediatricians in Tanzania completed a nationwide cross-sectional online survey, representing a 52% response rate. All respondents had encountered a child with a presumed rare disease, with 60% having seen one in the 6 months preceding the survey. The dataset, created by Mariam Noorani and last updated in May 2026, highlights major challenges including lack of diagnostic testing access and gaps in medical training.

Use Cases

• Analyze reported challenges in rare disease diagnosis based on the described lack of access to diagnostic testing
• Assess the perceived preparedness of medical professionals based on survey responses about training and confidence
• Map the frequency and types of rare disease encounters among pediatricians in Tanzania
• Evaluate the need for curriculum changes based on data showing rare diseases are not consistently taught in university

Strengths

• Contains responses from 168 pediatricians, providing a substantial sample size for analysis
• Reports a specific 52% response rate, indicating a defined survey population
• Includes concrete percentages on key findings, such as 97% reporting lack of diagnostic access

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect geographic and professional bias inherent to a single-country survey of a specific medical association

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Nationwide cross-sectional online survey distributed via the Pediatric Association of Tanzania WhatsApp group

Time Range

Survey period not specified; data reflects knowledge and experiences up to the point of collection.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-13 17:48:47; freshness should be verified

Geography

Tanzania