It appears you don't have support to open PDFs in this web browser. To view this file, Open with your PDF reader
Abstract
Background
Annual Mass Drug Administration (MDA) using praziquantel targeting primary school children is the main control strategy against schistosomiasis in Tanzania. However, there are concerns about decreasing participation in mass drug administration among primary school children for unknown reasons. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify factors related to relevant knowledge about schistosomiasis and the intention to participate in mass drug administration among primary school children in order to give recommendations for future projects.
Methods
A cross sectional, extended knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey was conducted among 356 primary school children aged 5–17 years in February–March 2016 using a pre-tested questionnaire. This survey was part of a baseline assessment for an integrated proof of concept study aiming towards schistosomiasis elimination on Ijinga Island. Outcomes of interest in logistic regression analysis were relevant knowledge and high intention to participate in treatment campaigns. Explanatory variables were sociodemographic information sources and elements aligned to Protection Motivation Theory (PMT).
Results
Only 17% of the children had relevant intestinal schistosomiasis related knowledge and very few of them knew any of the S. mansoni manifestations and complications. Factors associated with relevant schistosomiasis knowledge were previous diagnosis of schistosomiasis (aOR = 2.43, 95%CI: 1.1–5.6), having heard about schistosomiasis at school (aOR = 9.94, 95%CI: 5.0–19.7) and being enrolled in 6th or 7th grade (aOR = 3.94, 95%CI: 1.3–11.8). Only 40% of the children demonstrated high intention to participate in treatment campaigns. Factors associated with high intention to participate in MDA were previous diagnosis (aOR = 2.23, 95%CI: 1.1–4.7), perceived general risk of disease transmission by lake water (aOR = 1.79, 95%CI: 1.0–3.1), perceived own vulnerability of getting infected (aOR = 5.10, 95%CI: 2.1–12.6), perceived danger of the disease (aOR = 2.47, 95%CI: 1.3–4.8) and the perceived effectiveness of medicaments to cure the disease (aOR = 2.86, 95%CI: 1.4–5.7).
Conclusions
The minority of the school children had high level of theoretical knowledge about schistosomiasis and a small proportion of the children demonstrated high intention to participate in mass drug administration. In general, practical knowledge on preventive measures such as taking anti-schistosomiasis drug during MDA need to be impacted in school children to increase their participation in the control program.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer
Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer