Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers.
Background Podoconiosis is a neglected tropical disease commonly found in volcanic regions, where soil is rich in silica. It usually manifests as bilateral lower limb edema. The majority of people affected by podoconiosis are farmers who do not wear shoes. The condition was recently documented in al...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:dc7d295a0da2460a83801a24fa2efeee 2023-05-15T15:15:31+02:00 Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. Ursin Bayisenge Janna Schurer Rex Wong Hellen Amuguni Gail Davey 2020-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 https://doaj.org/article/dc7d295a0da2460a83801a24fa2efeee EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 https://doaj.org/article/dc7d295a0da2460a83801a24fa2efeee PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 14, Iss 10, p e0008740 (2020) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 2022-12-31T11:55:03Z Background Podoconiosis is a neglected tropical disease commonly found in volcanic regions, where soil is rich in silica. It usually manifests as bilateral lower limb edema. The majority of people affected by podoconiosis are farmers who do not wear shoes. The condition was recently documented in all 30 districts in Rwanda but knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Rwandan health professionals and environmental officers towards podoconiosis are unknown. Methodology/findings The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Rwandan health providers and environmental officers towards podoconiosis in order to improve patient healthcare experiences and health outcomes, and to reduce stigma against affected individuals. To achieve this goal, we administered a KAP assessment to physicians (N = 13), nurses/midwives (N = 59), community health workers (N = 226), and environmental officers (N = 38) in the third highest podoconiosis prevalence district in Rwanda (Musanze). All 336 respondents had heard of podoconiosis, but 147 (44%) respondents correctly identified soil as the only direct cause of podoconiosis. The awareness of signs and symptoms and risk groups was lower than any other category (31.5% and 47.5%, respectively). The overall attitude toward podoconiosis was positive (86.1%), with CHWs least likely to harbor negative beliefs against podoconiosis patients. One particular area where most respondents (76%) expressed negative attitude was that they saw people with podoconiosis as a threat to their own health and their family's health. Prescription of antibiotics and use of ointments/soap to manage wounds was low (5% and 32.2%, respectively), in part due to supply shortages at health facilities. Conclusions This study identified clear gaps in health provider knowledge and practices that affect patient care for those with podoconiosis. Improved access to essential medicines at health facilities and podoconiosis-focused training sessions for practicing health providers ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Kap ENVELOPE(23.567,23.567,65.533,65.533) PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 14 10 e0008740 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Ursin Bayisenge Janna Schurer Rex Wong Hellen Amuguni Gail Davey Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background Podoconiosis is a neglected tropical disease commonly found in volcanic regions, where soil is rich in silica. It usually manifests as bilateral lower limb edema. The majority of people affected by podoconiosis are farmers who do not wear shoes. The condition was recently documented in all 30 districts in Rwanda but knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Rwandan health professionals and environmental officers towards podoconiosis are unknown. Methodology/findings The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Rwandan health providers and environmental officers towards podoconiosis in order to improve patient healthcare experiences and health outcomes, and to reduce stigma against affected individuals. To achieve this goal, we administered a KAP assessment to physicians (N = 13), nurses/midwives (N = 59), community health workers (N = 226), and environmental officers (N = 38) in the third highest podoconiosis prevalence district in Rwanda (Musanze). All 336 respondents had heard of podoconiosis, but 147 (44%) respondents correctly identified soil as the only direct cause of podoconiosis. The awareness of signs and symptoms and risk groups was lower than any other category (31.5% and 47.5%, respectively). The overall attitude toward podoconiosis was positive (86.1%), with CHWs least likely to harbor negative beliefs against podoconiosis patients. One particular area where most respondents (76%) expressed negative attitude was that they saw people with podoconiosis as a threat to their own health and their family's health. Prescription of antibiotics and use of ointments/soap to manage wounds was low (5% and 32.2%, respectively), in part due to supply shortages at health facilities. Conclusions This study identified clear gaps in health provider knowledge and practices that affect patient care for those with podoconiosis. Improved access to essential medicines at health facilities and podoconiosis-focused training sessions for practicing health providers ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ursin Bayisenge Janna Schurer Rex Wong Hellen Amuguni Gail Davey |
author_facet |
Ursin Bayisenge Janna Schurer Rex Wong Hellen Amuguni Gail Davey |
author_sort |
Ursin Bayisenge |
title |
Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. |
title_short |
Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. |
title_full |
Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. |
title_fullStr |
Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. |
title_sort |
podoconiosis in rwanda: knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 https://doaj.org/article/dc7d295a0da2460a83801a24fa2efeee |
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ENVELOPE(23.567,23.567,65.533,65.533) |
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Arctic Kap |
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Arctic Kap |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 14, Iss 10, p e0008740 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 https://doaj.org/article/dc7d295a0da2460a83801a24fa2efeee |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008740 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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