Education and behaviour change

Assess the overall acceptability of the 3-drug treatment in the community as compared to the 2-drug treatment

Assess the overall acceptability of the 3-drug treatment in the community as compared to the 2-drug treatment

How much are people with and without podoconiosis willing to pay for shoes?

Does community-based treatment of podoconiosis lymphoedema reduce the frequency of attacks of acute dermatolymphangioadenitis?

Study the impact of WASH on Trachoma by adding an STH intervention and post-treatment evaluation. WASH intervention and control communities will be treated with albendazole and STH burden will be assessed pre-treatment and at annual intervals thereafter.

To develop a health education game on Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) transmission and to evaluate the potential of the game to promote behavioural changes among school children for the prevention of STH infections after treatment. Our primary research questions are: 1. Can our health education board game (Worms and Ladders) developed to teach transmission and control of STH cause any significant changes in the health behaviours of school aged children to reduce reinfection and transmission of STH after mass treatment? 2. Will the health messages learnt while playing our board game promote significant knowledge about the causes, transmission and control of STH among school children? 3. Will the combination of intervention (mass chemotherapy/Health education) have any significant impact of reducing STH reinfection in school children?

Develop a program evaluation tool to permit program managers to effectively assess coverage and compliance. This study will focus on assessing MDA coverage for lymphatic filariasis by comparing the cost, time and feasibility of the EPI approach (n=480), LQAS design (n=95) and probability sampling alternatives (n=480).

Preliminary study findings:

• All three survey methods were feasible for the teams to implement and cost <$5,000.
• Preschool deworming coverage, provided through the community-based MDA, was <60%.
• The main reason for refusing the medication was that the child had recently been dewormed.
• Approximately 80% of preschool children surveyed received at least one dose of unprogrammed deworming in the past 12 months.
• The main sources of unprogrammed deworming were health centers, local pharmacies, and bodegas.