Knowledge, attitudes, and practices as well as determinant factors regarding urogenital schistosomiasis among school-aged children in rural communities: a cross-sectional study in the Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases and a major health problem in many low- and middle-income countries. Despite the implementation of various control programs and measures, the prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis in Ghana has risen significantly over the past few decades. Within this context, we estimated the prevalence and assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) associated with urogenital schistosomiasis among school-aged children in rural communities in the Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana. This cross-sectional study enrolled 232 participants and spanned between January and April 2017. A questionnaire was used to gather demographic and epidemiological information of study participants. About 20–30 ml of terminal urine was collected from each participant and examined for eggs of urogenital schistosomiasis. Multiple logistic regression evaluated the association between KAP and the infection. The prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis was 14(6%) and all the infections recorded were light infections with mean egg intensity of 2.88. There was no association between KAP of urogenital schistosomiasis and the type of infection. Overall, the respondents’ KAP about urogenital schistosomiasis was adequate and could be the cause of the hypo-endemic outcome for urogenital schistosomiasis in these communities.

Keywords

• Urogenital schistosomiasis
• knowledge
• attitude
• practice
• school-aged children
• rural communities