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Effects of 'The Vicious Worm' educational tool on Taenia solium knowledge retention in Zambian primary school students after one year.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Taenia solium is a neglected zoonotic parasite endemic throughout many low-income countries worldwide, including Zambia, where it causes human and pig diseases with high health and socioeconomic burdens. Lack of knowledge is a recognized risk factor, and consequently targeted health educational programs can decrease parasite transmission and disease occurrence in endemic areas. Preliminary assessment of the computer-based education program 'The Vicious Worm' in rural areas of eastern Zambia indicated that it was effective at increasing knowledge of T. solium in primary school students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of 'The Vicious Worm' on knowledge retention by re-assessing the same primary school students one year after the initial education workshops. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Follow-up questionnaires were administered in the original three primary schools in eastern Zambia in 2017, 12 months after the original workshops. In total, 86 pupils participated in the follow-up sessions, representing 87% of the initial workshop respondents. Knowledge of T. solium at 'follow-up' was significantly higher than at the initial 'pre' questionnaire administered during the Vicious Worm workshop that took place one year earlier. While some specifics of the parasite's life cycle were not completely understood, the key messages for disease prevention, such as the importance of hand washing and properly cooking pork, remained well understood by the students, even one year later. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Results of this study indicate that 'The Vicious Worm' may be an effective tool for both short- and long-term T. solium education of rural primary school students in Zambia. Inclusion of educational workshops using 'The Vicious Worm' could be recommended for integrated cysticercosis control/elimination programs in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly if the content is simplified to focus on the key messages for prevention of disease transmission.

SUBMITTER: Hobbs EC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6544326 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of 'The Vicious Worm' educational tool on Taenia solium knowledge retention in Zambian primary school students after one year.

Hobbs Emma C EC Mwape Kabemba Evans KE Devleesschauwer Brecht B Van Damme Inge I Krit Meryam M Berkvens Dirk D Zulu Gideon G Mambwe Moses M Chembensofu Mwelwa M Trevisan Chiara C Baauw Jacoba J Phiri Isaac Khozozo IK Speybroeck Niko N Ketzis Jennifer J Dorny Pierre P Willingham Arve Lee AL Gabriël Sarah S

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20190520 5

<h4>Background</h4>Taenia solium is a neglected zoonotic parasite endemic throughout many low-income countries worldwide, including Zambia, where it causes human and pig diseases with high health and socioeconomic burdens. Lack of knowledge is a recognized risk factor, and consequently targeted health educational programs can decrease parasite transmission and disease occurrence in endemic areas. Preliminary assessment of the computer-based education program 'The Vicious Worm' in rural areas of ...[more]

PMID: 31107880

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Project description:The neglected zoonotic cestode Taenia solium is endemic in many low- and middle-income countries, including Zambia. The parasite infects humans and pigs, inflicting high socioeconomic and disease burdens in endemic areas. Health education is regarded as an important component in T. solium control and previous studies indicate that 'The Vicious Worm' may be an effective T. solium health education tool for Tanzanian medical and agricultural professionals and Zambian primary school students. This study aimed to assess the effects of health education using 'The Vicious Worm' among Zambian pork supply chain workers, because the pork supply chain greatly influences food safety and security in Zambia. Half-day educational workshops using 'The Vicious Worm' and subsequent follow-up sessions were organized in the Lusaka and Katete districts of Zambia in March and April 2019. Questionnaires were administered before, after, and three weeks after the use of 'The Vicious Worm' to assess the program's impact on knowledge uptake and short-term retention. Focus group discussions were conducted to assess the program's user experience and the participants' beliefs, attitudes, and insights. In total, 47 pork supply chain workers participated: 25 from Lusaka and 22 from Katete. Overall, knowledge about T. solium was significantly higher (p<0.001) both immediately after, and three weeks after the use of 'The Vicious Worm' compared to baseline knowledge. Focus group discussions indicated incipient attitudinal and behavioral change, as well as a positive reception of the software; with participants describing the software as simple, educative, and useful to share knowledge. The study results indicate that workshops using 'The Vicious Worm' may be effective for short-term T. solium health education among key pork supply chain workers. Follow-up studies are required to assess long-term effects, transfer of knowledge and behavioral change. However, educational interventions with 'The Vicious Worm' could be considered for integrated T. solium control programs in sub-Saharan Africa, especially if the educational content is further simplified and clarified.

Project description:ObjectivesAlthough cancer is seen in every state in the United States, it does not affect every geographic area and population equally. Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the country, with an unusually high number of cases localized in its Appalachian region. Risk factors such as sun exposure, tobacco use, poor diet/exercise, poverty, and lack of access to healthcare centers contribute to this disparity. Because education levels in the area are low, cancer literacy (defined as how well a person can understand the advice of a healthcare professional and make appropriate lifestyle decisions) also is low. In this study, we examined the short-term and long-term effects of a brief cancer-related intervention on the cancer literacy of Kentucky middle and high school students.MethodsThis study targeted middle and high school students in Kentucky. We administered an online 10-item cancer literacy pretest, followed by a brief educational intervention and a posttest to 164 students at six Kentucky middle and high schools. This posttest also included questions asking how likely students would be to change their habits or to encourage others to change their habits as a result of the intervention. All of the participating students also were sent a 3-month follow-up online survey with items identical to the pretest; 48 students completed the 3-month follow-up test, leading to a response rate of 29.2%. The data were summarized as frequencies, averages, median, and confidence intervals (CIs) of correctly marked answers. A paired t test was used to test for significance.ResultsWe observed an increase in the overall average test score from 50.2% (95% CI 47.8%-52.6%) on the pretest to 77.1% (95% CI 74.6%-79.7%) on the posttest immediately following the intervention. There also was an increase in the average number of correct responses on each item. The 3-month follow-up test similarly showed average test score improvement (75.4%). When asked how likely students would be to change their habits as a result of the intervention on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 = extremely unlikely, 10 = extremely likely), the median was 6. When asked how likely students would be to encourage another to change their habits, the median was an 8.ConclusionsThese results provide evidence that a brief educational intervention can increase cancer literacy, improve cancer knowledge retention, and encourage behavior change in Appalachian Kentucky students. Increasing cancer literacy may result in increased participation in preventive cancer screenings and improved health habits, which could ultimately lower cancer rates in the region.

Dataset Information

Effects of 'The Vicious Worm' educational tool on Taenia solium knowledge retention in Zambian primary school students after one year.

Publications

Effects of 'The Vicious Worm' educational tool on Taenia solium knowledge retention in Zambian primary school students after one year.

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