OCR Text |
Show SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ABSTRACTS USING SOIL-TRANSMITTED HELMINTH PREVALANCE AS A METHODS AND EVALUATION TOOL FOR SANITATION EFFORTS IN T WO GHANAIAN VILLAGES Nicole Fox (Scott Benson) Division of Public Health University of Utah A 2011 UNICEF report describes sanitation in Ghana as nothing short of "abysmal". In 2010, only 14 percent of the country had access to improved facilities, and some have estimated that epidemics and illness caused by open defecation costs Ghana 79 million dollars per year. To address and improve sanitation, UNICEF and the Government of Ghana have developed a Rural Sanitation Model. The model builds on a Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach, which focuses on changing behavior as well as facilitating improved latrine construction. Post-implementation evaluation of behavioral change can be difficult, as individuals can change what they report and/or change behaviors that they know are being observed. As a result, it can be difficult to objectively measure changes resulting from a behavioral program, and areas where the approach can be modified to be more effective. One method to avoid behavioral bias in sanitation programs is to focus on biological indicators of fecal transmission. Some of the strongest indicators of inadequate hygiene are the presence and burden of intestinal helminthes. Three soil-transmitted helminthes - Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm spp. - are especially indicative of fecally-contaminated soil in tropical areas. This study will conduct a survey of A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and hookworm spp. among different age groups in two rural Ghanaian villages. O n e village has constructed an improved sanitation facility according to the Rural Sanitation Model; the other has not. Cohorts of preschool-aged children and their mothers from each village will be asked to voluntarily give fecal samples, which will be evaluated using a modified Kato-Katz technique. Any individual that tests positive for helminth infection during the investigation will be treated with 400 m g of albendazole, as outlined in W H O standard procedures for anti-helminth campaigns. It is expected that the prevalence of intestinal helminthes in both communities will give an indication of both the baseline epidemiology of infection in this region, as well as provide a tool that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of sanitation efforts in these areas. 'UNICEF. Rural Sanitation Model and Costed Scaling Up Strategy for Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) & Hygiene in Ghana. Internal working document, March 2011. 2WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: 2012 update. www.unicef.org/media/files/JMPreport2012.pdf. Published 2012. Accessed January 12, 2013. 3Ghana News Agency. Open defecation costs Ghana 79 million dollars - Prof. Gorden. Ghana News Agency. January 16,2013. http://www.ghananewsagency.org/science/open-defeacation-costs-ghana-79-million-dollars-prof-gordon- 55080?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter. Accessed January 17, 2013. 4Strina A, Cairncross S, Barreto ML, et al. Childhood Diarrhea and Observed Hygiene Behavior in Salvador, Brazil. American Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 157:1032-1038 5WH0. Preventative chemotherapy in human helminthiasis: coordinated use of antihelminthic drugs in control interventions: a manual for health professionals and program managers, http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publica-tions/ 2006/9241547103_eng.pdf. Published 2006. Accessed January 12, 2013. Nicole Fox Scott Benson |