The Use of Students Questionnaire in Identification of Communities at Risk of Onchocerciasis in Kefa, South-West Ethiopia
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Date
1993-05
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Addis Abeba University
Abstract
A study was conducted to test the application of the
so called "indirect questionnaire approach" using key
informants, for the assessment of high risk areas for
onchocerciasis. The objective was to determine the
validity, cost-effectiveness and operational feasibility
of questionnaires. Questionnaires were designed and
distributed to six junior high schools via the education
officer and administered to 1385 students through their
teachers. Validation test was undertaken on 1345 students
of the same schools. Using the Spearman rank correlation
analysis on the positive response rate on the indictors
of onchocerciasis to the parasitological results,all the
questions were negatively correlated, due to probably poor
perception, immune tolerance and lack of attention to the
manifestations in the high risk areas.Report of "nodule"
was the only significantly correlated. The use of
educational sector was found to be feasible. The indirect
questionnaire approach was seven times less expensive,
with comparable time and coverage as the biomedical
approach. The study area was found to have high prevalence
(15.5%) of microfilarial rate in young teenagers, and the
endemic area wider. Further study is recommended to assess
the applicability of the approach, in different socioeconomic
and demographic situations
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The Use of Students Questionnaire in Identification of Communities at Risk