Health education strategy in the control of urinary schistosomiasis

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of health education intervention on the perception and prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis among school children in endemic rural communities in Cameroon. The rapid assessment technique method was used to determine the prevalence of Schistosoma heamatobium infection in Gounougou (experiment 1), Ouro-Doukoudje (experiment 2), and Lagdo (control). There was a positive correlation between the questionnaire approach, the biochemical testing, and ova detection rate (r dispersed between 0.98 and 1.00) In the first phase of the study, after collection of the baseline data, school children of the experimental villages recieved health education. Unlike in Gounougou where children were given a predesigned control procedure, those in Ouro-Doukoudje were asked to design their own control procedure under the supervision of the investigators. A second investigation conducted eight months after the end of the first intervention showed a significant drop of prevalence in Gounougou (53.2% vs 29.6%, p <0.0005) and Ouro-Doukoudje (39.4% vs 17.7%, p < 0.0005) but not in Lagdo (31.4% vs 30.4%, p>0.25). It also showed a significant increase of the awareness in Gounougou (14.5% vs 94.7%, p<0.0005) and Ouro-Doukoudje (4.5% vs 98.5%, p<0.0005) but not in Lagdo (18.4% vs 19.4%, p>10); with the greater increase in Ouro-Doukoudje (94.0%) as compared to Gounougou (80.2%, p<0.05). The investigators concluded that health education through the framework of school could be adopted as a national policy for urinary schistosomiasis control programs in tropical developing countries, planned with school children as full partners, proveded they recieve appropriate orientation.