University of Washington, School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 May 6;15(5):e0009251. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009251. eCollection 2021 May.
The current body of research on insecticide use in Peru deals primarily with application of insecticides offered through Ministry of Health-led campaigns against vector-borne disease. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the individual use, choice and perceptions of insecticides which may influence uptake of public health-based vector control initiatives and contribute to the thousands of deaths annually from acute pesticide poisoning in Peru.
Residents (n = 49) of the Alto Selva Alegre and CC districts of peri-urban Arequipa participated in seven focus group discussions (FGD). Using a FGD guide, two facilitators led the discussion and conducted a role-playing activity. this activity, participants insecticides (represented by printed photos of insecticides available locally) and pretended to "sell" the insecticides to other participants, including describing their qualities as though they were advertising the insecticide. The exercise was designed to elicit perceptions of currently available insecticides. The focus groups also included questions about participants' preferences, use and experiences related to insecticides outside the context of this activity. Focus group content was transcribed, and qualitative data were analyzed with Atlas.ti and coded using an inductive process to generate major themes related to use and choice of insecticides, and perceived risks associated with insecticide use.
The perceived risks associated with insecticides included both short- and long-term health impacts, and safety for children emerged as a priority. However, in some cases insecticides were reportedly applied in high-risk ways including application of insecticides directly to children and bedding. Some participants attempted to reduce the risk of insecticide use with informal, potentially ineffective personal protective equipment and by timing application when household members were away. Valued insecticide characteristics, such as strength and effectiveness, were often associated with negative characteristics such as odor and health impacts. "Agropecuarios" (agricultural supply stores) were considered a trusted source of information about insecticides and their health risks.
It is crucial to characterize misuse and perceptions of health impacts and risks of insecticides at the local level, as well as to find common themes and patterns across populations to inform national and regional programs to prevent acute insecticide poisoning and increase community participation in insecticide-based vector control campaigns. We detected risky practices and beliefs about personal protective equipment, risk indicators, and safety levels that could inform such preventive campaigns, as well as trusted information sources such as agricultural stores for partnerships in disseminating information.
目前秘鲁关于杀虫剂使用的研究主要集中在卫生部主导的针对虫媒疾病的杀虫剂应用上。然而，关于个人使用、选择和对杀虫剂的看法方面的文献还存在空白，这些因素可能会影响基于公共卫生的病媒控制措施的实施，并导致秘鲁每年有数千人因急性农药中毒而死亡。
来自秘鲁阿雷基帕市 Alto Selva Alegre 和 CC 区的 49 名居民参加了 7 次焦点小组讨论（FGD）。两名主持人使用 FGD 指南引导讨论，并进行角色扮演活动。在这个活动中，参与者（代表当地可获得的杀虫剂的印刷照片）假装“销售”杀虫剂给其他参与者，包括描述其品质，就像他们在为杀虫剂做广告一样。这项活动旨在了解参与者对现有杀虫剂的看法。焦点小组还包括参与者在活动之外与杀虫剂相关的偏好、使用和经验的问题。焦点小组的内容被转录，使用 Atlas.ti 进行定性数据分析，并使用归纳法对代码进行编码，以生成与杀虫剂使用和选择以及与杀虫剂使用相关的风险感知相关的主要主题。
与杀虫剂相关的感知风险包括短期和长期的健康影响，儿童安全成为首要关注点。然而，在某些情况下，杀虫剂的使用方式存在高风险，包括直接将杀虫剂应用于儿童和床上用品。一些参与者试图通过使用非正式的、可能无效的个人防护设备和在家庭成员离开时进行喷洒来降低杀虫剂使用的风险。一些有价值的杀虫剂特性，如强度和效果，往往与气味和健康影响等负面特性相关联。“Agropecuarios”（农业供应商店）被认为是了解杀虫剂及其健康风险的可靠信息来源。
在地方层面上，对杀虫剂的误用和对健康影响及风险的认知进行描述至关重要，同时还需要在不同人群中寻找共同的主题和模式，为预防急性杀虫剂中毒和提高社区参与基于杀虫剂的病媒控制活动提供信息。我们发现了一些关于个人防护设备、风险指标和安全水平的危险做法和观念，这些可以为这类预防活动提供信息，并为农业商店等可靠信息来源提供合作机会，以传播信息。
