Public Health, Institute of tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
Coordination, Programme National de Lutte contre la Trypanosomiase Humaine Africaine, Kinshasa, Congo.
BMJ Glob Health. 2022 Jan;7(1). doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006879.
The National Programme for the control of human African trypanosomiasis in Democratic Republic of Congo includes a large-scale vector control operation using Tiny Targets. These are small panels of insecticide-impregnated cloth that are deployed in riverine habitat where tsetse flies concentrate. The effectiveness of Tiny Targets depends partly on acceptance by local communities. In 2018, we conducted research to explore the perception and acceptability of Tiny Targets in two different village clusters where Tiny Targets had been deployed by the local community or external teams. We conducted fourteen focus group discussions and seven semistructured interviews in three villages from each cluster in the Yasa Bonga health zone. Our findings showed that acceptability was better in the cluster where communities were involved in the deployment of Tiny Targets. Also in this cluster, awareness about Tiny Targets was satisfactory and the project was implemented within local customs, which promoted a positive perception of Tiny Targets and their benefits. In the cluster where external teams deployed Tiny Targets, a lack of information and communication, stereotypes applied by communities towards the deployment teams and the impression of inadequate respect for local customs led to anxiety and a misleading interpretation of the purpose of Tiny Targets and negatively influenced acceptability. This study highlights the importance of involving communities for programme acceptance. Our research underlined how awareness campaigns and communication are essential, but also how working within the scope of community social norms and customs are equally important. Prospects for the successful use of Tiny Targets are greater when communities are involved because the use can be adapted to social norms.
刚果民主共和国的国家人体锥虫病控制计划包括使用 Tiny Targets 进行大规模的媒介控制行动。这些是小块浸渍杀虫剂的布板，部署在采采蝇集中的河流栖息地。Tiny Targets 的有效性部分取决于当地社区的接受程度。2018 年，我们进行了研究，以探讨在两个不同的村庄集群中，Tiny Targets 被当地社区或外部团队部署时的感知和可接受性。我们在 Yasa Bonga 卫生区的每个集群中的三个村庄进行了 14 次焦点小组讨论和 7 次半结构化访谈。我们的研究结果表明，在社区参与部署 Tiny Targets 的集群中，可接受性更好。在这个集群中，对 Tiny Targets 的认识也令人满意，该项目是在当地习俗范围内实施的，这促进了对 Tiny Targets 及其益处的积极看法。在外部团队部署 Tiny Targets 的集群中，由于缺乏信息和沟通、社区对部署团队的刻板印象以及对不充分尊重当地习俗的印象，导致了焦虑和对 Tiny Targets 目的的误解，并对可接受性产生了负面影响。这项研究强调了让社区参与计划接受的重要性。我们的研究强调了宣传和沟通的重要性，但也强调了在社区社会规范和习俗范围内开展工作同样重要。当社区参与时，成功使用 Tiny Targets 的前景更大，因为可以根据社会规范来调整使用方式。
