Kifle Bedilu, Nigatu Mamo
Bench Maji Zonal Health Department, Ethiopia.
Jimma University, Institute of Health, Public Health Faculty, Epidemiology Department, Ethiopia.
J Parasitol Res. 2021 Mar 29;2021:8866639. doi: 10.1155/2021/8866639. eCollection 2021.
Community-directed treatment with ivermectin twice a year is a major action to control onchocerciasis in endemic countries. Even though the community-directed treatment with ivermectin was proven effective in treating the disease, the level of compliance to the treatment and its contributing factors was not well addressed in our study area. Therefore, the current study was aimed at determining the magnitude of compliance with the five-year (2013-2017 years) biannual ivermectin treatment and its associated factors among adults living in the Bench Maji Zone, Ethiopia.
A community-based cross-sectional study was done on 572 randomly selected people aged greater than or equal to 15 years. Data were collected by a face-to-face interview. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize descriptive data. Binary logistic regression was done to assess statistical associations. Adjusted odds ratio and its 95% CI were, respectively, used to measure the strength of statistical association and its significance.
Five hundred fifty-three (553) people had participated in the study making the response rate 96.7%. The overall magnitude of compliance to the five-year biannual ivermectin treatment was 361 (65.3%). The results of the multivariable logistic regression showed that age, positive attitude towards community drug distributers' performance, positive attitude towards height measurement for the treatment dose determination, and involvement in community-directed treatment with ivermectin were independently associated with compliance to ivermectin treatment at value < 0.05.
Even though the Ethiopian government has set a goal to eliminate onchocerciasis through community-directed treatment with the ivermectin, which is proven effective in treating the disease, the magnitude of compliance with the treatment among adults aged ≥15 years in the Semen Bench District is still unacceptably low. The Bench Maji Zonal Health Department and other stakeholders working on onchocerciasis prevention, control, and elimination should give due emphasis to behavioral change communication through community-based education and other social media to promote community's awareness on community-directed treatment with ivermectin giving due focus to adults aged 45 years and above.
每年两次使用伊维菌素进行社区定向治疗是流行国家控制盘尾丝虫病的一项主要行动。尽管已证明使用伊维菌素进行社区定向治疗对治疗该疾病有效，但在我们的研究区域，对该治疗的依从水平及其影响因素并未得到很好的研究。因此，本研究旨在确定埃塞俄比亚本奇马吉地区15岁及以上成年人对为期五年（2013 - 2017年）的伊维菌素半年一次治疗的依从程度及其相关因素。
对572名年龄大于或等于15岁的随机选取的人群进行了一项基于社区的横断面研究。通过面对面访谈收集数据。使用描述性统计来汇总描述性数据。进行二元逻辑回归以评估统计关联。调整后的比值比及其95%置信区间分别用于衡量统计关联的强度及其显著性。
553人参与了研究，应答率为96.7%。对为期五年的伊维菌素半年一次治疗的总体依从程度为361人（65.3%）。多变量逻辑回归结果显示，年龄、对社区药物分发人员表现的积极态度、对确定治疗剂量时身高测量的积极态度以及参与伊维菌素社区定向治疗与伊维菌素治疗的依从性独立相关，P值<0.05。
尽管埃塞俄比亚政府设定了通过使用伊维菌素进行社区定向治疗来消除盘尾丝虫病的目标，且该方法已被证明对治疗该疾病有效，但在塞门本奇区15岁及以上成年人中，该治疗的依从程度仍然低得令人无法接受。本奇马吉地区卫生部门以及其他致力于盘尾丝虫病预防、控制和消除的利益相关者应通过社区教育和其他社交媒体，充分重视行为改变沟通，以提高社区对伊维菌素社区定向治疗的认识，尤其要关注45岁及以上的成年人。
