Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices regarding Diarrhea and Cholera following an Oral Cholera Vaccination Campaign in the Solomon Islands.

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Eleanor Burnett, Tenneth Dalipanda, Divi Ogaoga, Jenny Gaiofa, Gregory Jilini, Alison Halpin, Vance Dietz, Kashmira Date, Eric Mintz, Terri Hyde, Kathleen Wannemuehler, Catherine Yen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004937; https://doaj.org/article/274d95432068474daea0ff22a2e3fc0a

In response to a 2011 cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea, the Government of the Solomon Islands initiated a cholera prevention program which included cholera disease prevention and treatment messaging, community meetings, and a pre-emptive cholera vaccination campaign targeting 11,000 children aged 1-15 years in selected communities in Choiseul and Western Provinces.We conducted a post-vaccination campaign, household-level survey about knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding diarrhea and cholera in areas targeted and not targeted for cholera vaccination. Respondents in vaccinated areas were more likely to have received cholera education in the previous 6 months (33% v. 9%; p = 0.04), to know signs and symptoms (64% vs. 22%; p = 0.02) and treatment (96% vs. 50%; p = 0.02) of cholera, and to be aware of cholera vaccine (48% vs. 14%; p = 0.02). There were no differences in water, sanitation, and hygiene practices.This pre-emptive OCV campaign in a cholera-naïve community provided a unique opportunity to assess household-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding diarrhea, cholera, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Our findings suggest that education provided during the vaccination campaign may have reinforced earlier mass messaging about cholera and diarrheal disease in vaccinated communities.