COMMUNITY CO-DESIGNED SCHISTOSOMIASIS CONTROL INTERVENTIONS FOR SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN IN ZANZIBAR

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Social Sciences
• Tropical Medicine

Background:

• Top-down schistosomiasis control in sub-Saharan Africa has limited success due to failure to integrate social, economic, and ecological contexts.
• Community engagement and locally adapted interventions are crucial but rarely implemented in schistosomiasis control programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline and demonstrate a community co-designed process, based on Human-Centered Design (HCD), for developing effective schistosomiasis control interventions.
• To adapt interventions to the specific social, economic, and environmental contexts of the Zanzibar Islands, Tanzania.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative and quantitative data-driven workshop involving 32 community members, social science researchers, and public health practitioners.
• Facilitated interpretation of local Schistosoma haematobium infection data by community members.
• Co-design of interventions using Human-Centered Design principles and techniques.

Main Results:

• Development and implementation of novel school-based education and training programs.
• Identification of safe, locally relevant play activities and events for schools.
• Installation of community-designed urinals and laundry-washing platforms to reduce exposure to cercariae-contaminated water.

Conclusions:

• Community co-design, grounded in HCD, fosters the development of more sustainable and effective schistosomiasis control interventions.
• Engaging communities in data interpretation and intervention design leads to greater local ownership and relevance.
• This participatory approach offers a promising model for improving public health outcomes in schistosomiasis-endemic regions.