Knowledge, attitudes and practices on Schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundSchistosomiasis remains a global health problem with an estimated 250 million people in 78 countries infected, of whom 85% live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Preventive chemotherapy remains the key public health strategy to combat schistosomiasis worldwide. Recently the WHO emphasized on the use of integrative approaches in the control and elimination of schistosomiasis. However, a detailed understanding of sociocultural factors that may influence the uptake of the intended health activities and services is vital. Thus, our study sought to understand the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and practices about schistosomiasis in various communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsA systematic search of literature for the period 2006–2016 was done on Medline, PubMed, CINAHL, Psych info and Google Scholar using the following key words “Schistosomiasis, S. mansoni, S. haematobium, knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and practices in Sub-Saharan Africa” in combination with Bolean operators (OR, AND). In this context, we reviewed studies conducted among school children, community members and caregivers of preschool children. Thematic analysis was utilised for the overall synthesis of the selected studies. This was done after reading the articles in depth. Themes were identified and examined for similarities, differences and contradictions.ResultsGaps in schistosomiasis related knowledge and sociocultural barriers towards the uptake of preventive and treatment services among communities in Sub-Saharan Africa were identified. In addition to limited knowledge and negative attitudes, risky water related practices among community members, school children and caregivers of preschool children were identified as key factors promoting transmission of the disease.ConclusionThe study concluded that a comprehensive health education programme using contextual and standardised training tools may improve peoples’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to schistosomiasis prevention and control. Findings also highlight the significance of including caregivers in the planning and implementation schistosomiasis control programs targeting pre-school children.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-017-2923-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices with regard to schistosomiasis prevention and control: Two cross-sectional household surveys before and after a Community Dialogue intervention in Nampula province, Mozambique

“…High levels of awareness have been found consistently in other surveys across sub-Saharan Africa [21–25], including one in neighbouring Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique [26]. A recently published systematic review on schistosomiasis KAP in sub-Saharan Africa concluded, however, that high awareness is typically coupled with poor knowledge of causes, prevention and control [27]. This pattern was also found in the four study districts at baseline [16] and it was therefore encouraging to see generally improved knowledge at endline.…”

Schistosomiasis infection in pre-school aged children in Uganda: a qualitative descriptive study to identify routes of exposure

“…Misconceptions about transmission were rife including thoughts that it was through witchcraft, and that directly bathing children with river water fetched in containers was not a risk factor. Some misconceptions and gaps in knowledge have been quantified in Uganda [15, 21] and elsewhere [22]. This is glaring evidence that the caregivers and probably many people in the endemic communities are not comprehensively knowledgeable about the modes of transmission for the schistosomiasis.…”

Binge-Watching: What Do we Know So Far? A First Systematic Review of the Evidence

“…Nevertheless, as this tool does not involve any quality assessment score, we used the shortened version from Sacolo, Chimbari, & Kalinda [16], consisting of 10 yes/no questions, resulting in a total score to give a quality rating from 1-4 (Low), 5-7 (Moderate) to 8-10 (High). The details of this assessment per item/question and the total quality score for each study are presented in Table 1.…”