IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/epw/ejmed0/v6y2024i2id42044.html

Community Conversations: A Tool in Improving Health Outcomes and Reducing the Burden of Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) in Isiolo County, Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Victor Mwiti Marangu

    (Meru University of Science and Technology, Kenya)

  • Robert Mburugu Kei

    (Meru University of Science and Technology, Kenya)

  • Dorothy Kagendo

    (Meru University of Science and Technology, Kenya)

Abstract

Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by Leishmania species that affects human. Transmission is through the bite of Phlebotomus sandflies. Globally, WHO ranks Kala-azar as the second largest parasitic killer after Malaria. The disease poses a threat to more than a billion people on almost every continent. Approximately 90% of Kala-azar global burden is found in Africa. Major endemicity is documented in Eastern Africa (Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia). Accurate burden of the disease in Kenya is unknown attributable to inadequate information on disease prevalence, diagnostic challenges, and spatial distribution. Additionally, morbidity and mortality levels from the disease in the Country are unknown ascribable to a low index of suspicion by healthcare workers, diagnostic challenges, and case management. An example of diagnostic challenges is a reported outbreak of ‘unknown disease’ akin to Kala-azar in Marsabit County in May 2023 where nine people were confirmed dead and over 80 hospitalized. This study aimed to analyze community’s prioritization of causes of Kalaazar as well as community awareness of disease prevention and control. Quantitative data were collected using Participatory Epidemiology methods in purposively selected study villages. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Study findings indicated that 97.2% of respondents had heard about Kala-azar. Despite the awareness, a broad gap between knowledge and practice of prevention and control strategies of the disease was evident. Kala-azar was associated with human behaviour like preferences for traditional and alternative treatment approaches (45.2%), evening outdoor practices before going to bed (99.6%), sleeping outdoors (60.1%), occasional bed nets use (69.2%), and availability of domestic animals and wild animals within house yards (54.6%). Cultural beliefs and practices were noted to play a key role in augmenting the disease burden, where most cases had burn scars from traditional healers’ therapeutic burns. As a consequence, they sought medical help after onset of complications, which ranged from increased severity to fatalities. Community engagement was minimal in prevention and control. In this participatory research, we propose behaviour change communication activities for the elimination of Kala-azar as a public health problem. This article serves as a base for future studies aimed at giving voice to communities while enhancing their understanding of causes of diseases, the possibility of enhanced early diagnostic techniques, and options for prevention, control, and surveillance which in turn is translated to action.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Mwiti Marangu & Robert Mburugu Kei & Dorothy Kagendo, 2024. "Community Conversations: A Tool in Improving Health Outcomes and Reducing the Burden of Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) in Isiolo County, Kenya," European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences, European Open Science, vol. 6(2), pages 72-81, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:epw:ejmed0:v:6:y:2024:i:2:id:42044
    DOI: 10.24018/ejmed.2024.6.2.2044
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/ejmed/article/view/42044
    File Function: Abstract page
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/ejmed/article/download/42044/10175
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.24018/ejmed.2024.6.2.2044?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:epw:ejmed0:v:6:y:2024:i:2:id:42044. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/ejmed .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.