Parasitology and Epidemiology Unit, Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Nigeria.
Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Nigeria.
Int J Public Health. 2023 Feb 9;68:1605510. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1605510. eCollection 2023.
This study assessed the coverage of albendazole (ALB) in mass drug administration (MDA) programs implemented before (2019) and during the (2020 and 2021) COVID-19 pandemic in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Standardized questionnaires were administered to 1,127 children across three peri-urban communities to ascertain if they received and swallowed ALB across the years. Reasons, why ALB was not received, were documented and analyzed in SPSS. 20.0. In 2019, the medicine reach was between 42.2%-57.8%, however, during the pandemic, the reach significantly reduced to 12.3%-18.6%, and increased to 28.5%-35.2% in 2021 ( < 0.000). About 19.6%-27.2% of the participants have missed 1 MDA, while 26.9%-37.8% and 22.4%-32.8% have missed 2 and 3 MDAs, respectively. The majority who did not receive ALB (60.8%-75%) claimed drug distributors never came, while about 14.9%-20.3% mentioned they did not hear about MDA. However, individual compliance towards swallowing was above 94% across the study years ( < 0.00). These results highlight the need to explore the perceptions of those who have consistently missed MDAs, and also understand the health-system-related issues including those imposed by the pandemic affecting MDA.
本研究评估了在尼日利亚埃基提州（Ekiti State）COVID-19 大流行之前（2019 年）和期间（2020 年和 2021 年）实施的大规模药物治疗（MDA）计划中阿苯达唑（ALB）的覆盖范围。通过向三个城市周边社区的 1127 名儿童发放标准化问卷，确定他们在这几年是否接受并服用过 ALB。记录并在 SPSS 20.0 中分析未接受 ALB 的原因。2019 年，该药物的覆盖率在 42.2%-57.8%之间，但在大流行期间，覆盖率显著下降至 12.3%-18.6%，并在 2021 年增加至 28.5%-35.2%（<0.000）。约 19.6%-27.2%的参与者错过了一次 MDA，而 26.9%-37.8%和 22.4%-32.8%分别错过了 2 次和 3 次 MDA。大多数未接受 ALB（60.8%-75%）的人声称药物分发者从未出现过，而约 14.9%-20.3%的人提到他们没有听说过 MDA。然而，在整个研究期间，个体对吞咽的依从性均超过 94%（<0.00）。这些结果突出表明需要探索那些始终错过 MDA 的人的看法，并了解影响 MDA 的与卫生系统相关的问题，包括大流行带来的问题。
