Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
BACKGROUND: Control of human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in the Democratic Republic of Congo is based on mass population active screening by mobile teams. Although generally considered a successful strategy, the community participation rates in these screening activities and ensuing...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9019a364a9ef473bbeaf2e9d06d0285e 2023-05-15T15:16:05+02:00 Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Alain Mpanya David Hendrickx Mimy Vuna Albert Kanyinda Crispin Lumbala Valéry Tshilombo Patrick Mitashi Oscar Luboya Victor Kande Marleen Boelaert Pierre Lefèvre Pascal Lutumba 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001467 https://doaj.org/article/9019a364a9ef473bbeaf2e9d06d0285e EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3260312?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001467 https://doaj.org/article/9019a364a9ef473bbeaf2e9d06d0285e PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 6, Iss 1, p e1467 (2012) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001467 2022-12-31T12:20:48Z BACKGROUND: Control of human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in the Democratic Republic of Congo is based on mass population active screening by mobile teams. Although generally considered a successful strategy, the community participation rates in these screening activities and ensuing treatment remain low in the Kasai-Oriental province. A better understanding of the reasons behind this observation is necessary to improve regional control activities. METHODS: Thirteen focus group discussions were held in five health zones of the Kasai-Oriental province to gain insights in the regional perceptions regarding sleeping sickness and the national control programme's activities. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sleeping sickness is well known among the population and is considered a serious and life-threatening disease. The disease is acknowledged to have severe implications for the individual (e.g., persistence of manic periods and trembling hands, even after treatment), at the family level (e.g., income loss, conflicts, separations) and for communities (e.g., disruption of community life and activities). Several important barriers to screening and treatment were identified. Fear of drug toxicity, lack of confidentiality during screening procedures, financial barriers and a lack of communication between the mobile teams and local communities were described. Additionally, a number of regionally accepted prohibitions related to sleeping sickness treatment were described that were found to be a strong impediment to disease screening and treatment. These prohibitions, which do not seem to have a rational basis, have far-reaching socio-economic repercussions and severely restrict the participation in day-to-day life. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A mobile screening calendar more adapted to the local conditions with more respect for privacy, the use of less toxic drugs, and a better understanding of the origin as well as better communication about the prohibitions related to treatment would facilitate higher participation rates ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 6 1 e1467 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Alain Mpanya David Hendrickx Mimy Vuna Albert Kanyinda Crispin Lumbala Valéry Tshilombo Patrick Mitashi Oscar Luboya Victor Kande Marleen Boelaert Pierre Lefèvre Pascal Lutumba Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND: Control of human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in the Democratic Republic of Congo is based on mass population active screening by mobile teams. Although generally considered a successful strategy, the community participation rates in these screening activities and ensuing treatment remain low in the Kasai-Oriental province. A better understanding of the reasons behind this observation is necessary to improve regional control activities. METHODS: Thirteen focus group discussions were held in five health zones of the Kasai-Oriental province to gain insights in the regional perceptions regarding sleeping sickness and the national control programme's activities. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sleeping sickness is well known among the population and is considered a serious and life-threatening disease. The disease is acknowledged to have severe implications for the individual (e.g., persistence of manic periods and trembling hands, even after treatment), at the family level (e.g., income loss, conflicts, separations) and for communities (e.g., disruption of community life and activities). Several important barriers to screening and treatment were identified. Fear of drug toxicity, lack of confidentiality during screening procedures, financial barriers and a lack of communication between the mobile teams and local communities were described. Additionally, a number of regionally accepted prohibitions related to sleeping sickness treatment were described that were found to be a strong impediment to disease screening and treatment. These prohibitions, which do not seem to have a rational basis, have far-reaching socio-economic repercussions and severely restrict the participation in day-to-day life. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A mobile screening calendar more adapted to the local conditions with more respect for privacy, the use of less toxic drugs, and a better understanding of the origin as well as better communication about the prohibitions related to treatment would facilitate higher participation rates ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alain Mpanya David Hendrickx Mimy Vuna Albert Kanyinda Crispin Lumbala Valéry Tshilombo Patrick Mitashi Oscar Luboya Victor Kande Marleen Boelaert Pierre Lefèvre Pascal Lutumba |
author_facet |
Alain Mpanya David Hendrickx Mimy Vuna Albert Kanyinda Crispin Lumbala Valéry Tshilombo Patrick Mitashi Oscar Luboya Victor Kande Marleen Boelaert Pierre Lefèvre Pascal Lutumba |
author_sort |
Alain Mpanya |
title |
Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. |
title_short |
Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. |
title_full |
Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. |
title_fullStr |
Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Should I get screened for sleeping sickness? A qualitative study in Kasai province, Democratic Republic of Congo. |
title_sort |
should i get screened for sleeping sickness? a qualitative study in kasai province, democratic republic of congo. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001467 https://doaj.org/article/9019a364a9ef473bbeaf2e9d06d0285e |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 6, Iss 1, p e1467 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3260312?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001467 https://doaj.org/article/9019a364a9ef473bbeaf2e9d06d0285e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001467 |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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6 |
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1 |
container_start_page |
e1467 |
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1766346392348917760 |