Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge and Behaviour among Adolescents in Rural Burkina Faso

Background: Adolescents in developing countries have limited knowledge about the prevention of STIs and unwanted pregnancies. In several African countries, risky sexual behaviour persists, including early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners, economic and sexual exchange, and low condom and contraceptive use. The purpose of this study is to assess the sexual and reproductive health knowledge and behaviour of adolescents in rural Burkina Faso in order to improve their sexual and reproductive health. Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with prospective data collection conducted from 07 March to 04 April 2022 in the area of the Demographic and Health Surveillance System of the Nouna Research Centre. A questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected sample of 1202 adolescents. Results: The mean age of the adolescents was 14.1 years and 56.6% were male. Only 58.2% of the adolescents had ever heard of HIV/AIDS. Of these, 95.7% did not know their HIV status. In addition, 15.8% had ever had sexual intercourse and 2.4% had been sexually active at an early age. Almost 45% had not used any contraceptive method the last time they had sex. Condoms were the most frequently used contraceptive method (47.4%). Among teenagers, 27.6% had been pregnant at least once, 7.3% were married and the average age at marriage was 18.45 years. Almost 7% (6.9%) of teenagers had more than one sexual partner. Conclusion: Adolescents have limited knowledge about reproductive health. Risky sexual behaviour persists. Awareness campaigns need to be intensified to improve their sexual and reproductive health.

Assessment of knowledge,cultural beliefs,and behavior regarding medication safety among residents in Harbin,China

BACKGROUND Medication misuse or overuse is significantly associated with poor health outcomes.Information regarding the knowledge,cultural beliefs,and behavior about medication safety in the general population is important.AIM To conduct a survey on medication habits and explored the potential factors impacting medication safety.METHODS The current survey included adults from 18 districts and counties in Harbin,China.A questionnaire on medication safety was designed based on knowledge,cultural beliefs,and behavior.Both univariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore the factors that impacted medication safety.RESULTS A total of 394 respondents completed the questionnaires on medication safety.The mean scores for knowledge,cultural beliefs,and behavior about medication safety were 59.41±19.33,40.66±9.24,and 60.97±13.69,respectively.The medication knowledge score was affected by age(P=0.044),education(P<0.001),and working status(P=0.015).Moreover,the cultural beliefs score was significantly affected by education(P<0.001).Finally,education(P=0.003)and working status(P=0.011)significantly affected the behavior score.CONCLUSION The knowledge,cultural beliefs,and behavior about medication safety among the general population was moderate.Health education should be provisioned for the elderly,individuals with a low education level,and the unemployed to improve medication safety in Harbin,China.

Knowledge,attitude,and practices toward osteoporosis among Jordanian nurses

Objective:To identify the level of knowledge,attitude,and practice(KAP)toward osteoporosis among Jordanian nurses.Methods:A cross-sectional design was adopted in this study.A convenience sample of 443 Jordanian nurses were recruited from the public and private healthcare settings in Jordan.The assessment tool used in the current study contained 35 items,measuring KAP among Jordanian nurses toward osteoporosis.The correlation Pearson test and regression test were used to analyze data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences,version 21.Results:The total KAP scores were 33.53,37.65,and 22.7,respectively.These results revealed that Jordanian nurses have a moderate level of KAP toward osteoporosis.Conclusions:Jordanian nurses showed a moderate KAP toward osteoporosis,which should be improved as an effective step to reducing the growing incidences of osteoporosis.The lack of KAP holds a serious and growing impact on the Jordanian health sector and patients’health in terms of cost,healthcare resources,and social life.Nurses can play a valuable role in educating patients on bone fracture causes,perceived percentage,risks,and prevention,as well as in helping them with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations.

Influence of Nursing Students Handwashing Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes on Their Handwashing Compliance

Information regarding current status of handwashing knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and compliance with handwashing practice in nursing students in Jordan is limited. This study aims to explore handwashing knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and self-reported compliance and to examine significant variables predicting compliance with handwashing practice among nursing students. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Results found a statistically significant relationship between nursing students’ handwashing compliance and their handwashing knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (r = 0.68, 0.65, 0.58, P β = 0.423, P = 0.000), followed by attitudes (β = 0.322, P = 0.000), and beliefs (β = 0.171, P = 0.027). Specific handwashing training courses integrated in nursing education curriculum are recommended. These courses need to consider nursing students’ handwashing attitudes and beliefs in conjunction with handwashing knowledge.

Indigenous Knowledge, Practices, Beliefs and Social Impacts of Porcine Cysticercosis and Epilepsy in Iringa Rural

Porcine Cysticercosis (PCC) and Human Cysticercosis (HCC)/Neurocysticercosis (NCC) are a burden to the community owing to the reduced value of animals, associated costs of treatment, decreased labour productivity and social discrimination. There is limited knowledge on the management and prevention of PCC and epilepsy in Iringa rural. Therefore, the present study aimed at assessing indigenous knowledge, practices, attitudes and social impacts of PCC and epilepsy in Iringa rural district. A total of 588 people participated in the survey whereby 306 were pig farmers, 223 non-pig farmers and 59 families with epileptic individuals. It was found that 49.8% (χ2 = 0.003, DF = 1, p = 0.954) of pig keepers were aware of PCC, whereas the remaining 50.2% were not aware (χ2 = 25.5, DF = 1, p χ2 = 3.814, DF = 1, p = 0.51). People in Iringa rural believe epilepsy is caused by evil spirits, witchcraft and/or inheritance. It was concluded that there was limited knowledge on T. solium cysticercosis and epilepsy. This ignorance is the cause of poor practices, negative beliefs and attitudes that negatively affect the social life of People with Epilepsy (PWE) in communities. This study recommends that health education to raise awareness on cysticercosis/taeniosis and epilepsy should be one of the intervention measures for elimination of cysticercosis and epilepsy in Iringa rural district.

HIV and AIDS related knowledge, beliefs and attitudes among rural communities hard to reach in Sudan

Background and Objective: There is a rising concern about Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) related knowledge in rural communities of Sudan. This study focuses on determining the extend of knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about HIV/ AIDS among rural communities difficult to access in the six States of Sudan. Subjects and Methods: Six thousand and one hundred twenty five respondents were interviewed through the method of house-to-house visits. A structured questionnaire was administered by research assistants recruited from the Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum University during a rural residency campaign in six states of Central, Eastern and Northern Sudan during 2008/2009. Results: Of the total interviewees, 48% were aware of the HIV/AIDS risk;46% reported to have good health seeking behaviors for HIV/AIDS. 54.4% of women reported to have better knowledge about the disease than men (45.6%). 38% (2005) had not heard of safety use of condom whereas 16% (320) had used it. Logistic regression revealed that 5.3% of knowledge about the disease was explained by gender, education and religion adjusted over age of the respondents. Conclusions: Mass media were the most common source of information about the existent risk of HIV/AIDS in rural communities. These findings could assist Sudanese National Aids Programme (SNAP), healthcare providers and policymakers to develop informative materials and health education programs to educate rural community is about the risk of HIV/AIDS.

The current status of foot self-care knowledge, behaviours, and analysis of influencing factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in China

Purpose:To investigate the knowledge and behaviours on foot self-care in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus;analyse the influential factors,and provide information for the intervention study.Methods:A total of 5961 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from 144 hospitals in China were included in the study.The investigation content included patients'demographic data,foot self-care knowledge and behaviours.The investigation tools were the questionnaires on the general diabetes information,on the foot self-care knowledge,and on the foot selfcare behaviours.Results:The foot self-care knowledge was medium and the foot self-care behaviour was poor.The status of knowledge and behaviours were influenced by education,duration of diabetes mellitus,periodic inspection,and education about diabetic complications.Pearson analysis demonstrated that there was positive correlation between knowledge score and behaviour score(r?0.27,p<0.001).Conclusions:The status of foot self-care knowledge and behaviours are not optimistic.According to the patients'own characteristics,the theory of knowledge,attitude and practice applies to encouraging patients to go for periodic inspection and education about diabetic complications so as to enhance the knowledge and promote the self-care behaviours.

Observational study to assess pregnant women's knowledge and behaviour related to toxoplasmosis in Essaouira province, Morocco

Objective: To assess knowledge and behaviour related to toxoplasmosis which remains a neglected disease in Morocco.Methods: Observational investigations were conducted among 600 pregnant women from Essaouira Province.The interview items covered respondents' knowledge of the disease, its preventive practices and risk behaviours.Results: A total of 22/600 women had already carried out the anti-toxoplasmosis test, while, 96% have never done any screening of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies.Only 16/600 women have good information about the disease, its mode of transmission and its complications in both the fetus and his mother.Although most women adopt a healthy diet, the consumption of raw or undercooked meat is far to be considered as a risk factor, along with other potential factors that may foster the acquisition of the disease, such as possessing a domestic cat, educational status and knowledge of the disease.However, in this study, contact with soil was revealed the most important risk factor(P = 0.045), followed by the hygiene conditions after handling raw meat(P = 0.048).Conclusion: The underestimation of the Toxoplasma gondii sero-prevalence in Essaouira Province can be explained by the absence of toxoplasmosis serology in health institutions, as well as the gap of knowledge about the disease by local population.

Osteoporosis Health Beliefs, Knowledge and Life Habits among Women in Saudi Arabia

Osteoporosis has been recognized as a major public health problem by healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia. The present study examines the osteoporosis knowledge, health beliefs, and some of the life habits in two different Saudi women’s groups (with family history, and without family history), to find the association of their knowledge and health beliefs with their preventive practice. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among a convenience sample of 288 young age (20 to 40 years) women attending the health centers in Al-Hassa, Saudi Arabia. Both groups had an inadequate daily calcium intake with a significant difference between them. The women without family history had low mean of knowledge (8.9 ± 2.7) compared with family history group (9.3 ± 2.7) with a significant difference (p = 0.04). Based on the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS) subscale mean score, the perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were lower in women without family history with a significant difference between the groups (p = 0.02, 0.00;respectively). The family history group had lower mean score barriers of calcium intake and exercise with a significant difference between groups (p = 0.017, 0.013;respectively). Statistically significant correlation was found between calcium intake and OHBS subscale perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits of calcium intake and exercise, and perceived barriers of exercise only for the family history group. This study indicates inadequate daily calcium intake, with moderate knowledge of osteoporosis in Saudi women and highlights the need for diet and life habits interventions to improve calcium intake and exercise, which may help to reduce the burden of osteoporosis in Saudi Arabia.

Diet-nutrition-related cancer prevention knowledge and beliefs of Sudanese in Khartoum: A descriptive study

Cancer appears to pose a major threat to the health of the Sudanese population. It is the third leading cause of death in the Sudan after malaria and pneumonia, accounting for 5% of all deaths. In 2005, approximately 22,000 people in the Sudan died from cancer and 17,000 of these people were less than 70 years old. This study was designed to: 1) assess nutrition knowledge and selected dietary beliefs related to cancer in Sudanese residing in Khartoum;2) identify perceived barriers to the adoption of eating behaviors consistent with those recommended for cancer prevention;and 3) describe the food preferences and dietary practices in Sudanese residing in Khartoum. An interviewer-administered questionnaire elicited demographic information, cancer-related food and nutrition knowledge, food preferences, selected dietary beliefs, barriers to healthy eating and food practices from 182 participants between the ages of 18 and 35 years. More than 50% of females and males correctly identified the food lowest in fiber from a given list. Respondents were knowledgeable about the fat content of their traditional foods, but unaware of the different types of fat. Only 8.8% of the respondents thought that consumption of fruits and vegetables reduced cancer risk. Resondents perceived nutritionists as the most reliable source of information about nutrition and cancer, and the media as the best source of information on nutrition and healthy cooking. “Samin”, feta cheese, a variety of stews, “Zalabia”, lean meat, brown bread, sesame oil, dried okra, fried fish, and chicken were described as preferred food items by respondents. Daily salt/ sodium intake was described by 44% and 39% of the male and female respondents, respectively, as “high” (>2400 mg/day). The findings of this study have clear implications for aggressive nutrition education intervention programs with emphasis on the traditional foods of the Sudan.

Belief and Knowledge Reasoning

Alternating-time Temporal Epistemic Logic (ATEL) which is an important kind of multi-agent cooperation logics only takes knowledge into account,but does not deal with belief of agents. By introducing three kinds of belief operators into ATEL,a new multi-agent cooperation logic named ATBKL (Alternating-time Temporal Belief and Knowledge Logic) was developed. A model checking algorithm was proposed. It is proved that the model checking complexity of ATBKL is the same as that of ATEL,i.e.,the presented logic is better for further study of multi-agent systems.

Mothers’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices on Causes and Prevention of Anaemia in Children Aged 6 - 59 Months: A Case Study at Mkuranga District Hospital, Tanzania

Aims: Anaemia in children aged 6 - 59 months is an important public health problem associated with increasing hospital costs, lengths of hospital stay, and development of complications later in life. Due to the significant caregiver roles of mothers, the level of mothers’ knowledge, beliefs and practices are important in addressing anaemia in children. This study investigated knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices of select mothers on anaemia and linked these with known factors for anaemia. Methodology: The case study was conducted at Mkuranga District Hospital, Paediatric Ward between December 2014 and April 2015. A cross-sectional design was used to recruit a convenience sample of 40 mothers whose children had a confirmed diagnosis of anaemia (through routine laboratory testing). Results: Within the sample, the majority of children were male (52.5%);aged 6 - 39 months (87.5%);and had a diagnosis of severe anaemia (75.0%) according to the World Health Organization’s definition. Over one third (35%) of mothers reported a prior history of anemia in their other children, and the majority (55%) had heard about anaemia prior to their child’s hospitalization. Maternal anaemia was reported by 67.5% of mothers. Mothers reported that maternal anemia (17.5%) and feeding practices (32.5%) are known contributing factors to anaemia in children. Mothers reported that anemia could be prevented (55.0%) and cured by herbal preparations (47.5%). In addition, some mothers indicated that anaemia was caused by witchcraft (22.5%) and eating lemons (2.5%). Conclusion: Severe anaemia was high among the studied population which aligned with their hospitalization status. Findings suggested potential gaps in control and management of anemia in children possibly related to low awareness or incorrect knowledge of the relationship between maternal and child anaemia. The findings also highlighted important cultural beliefs related to anaemia. There is an imperative for culturally and socially appropriate knowledge translation and exchange with mothers in order to impact on the prevention and control of anaemia in children in Tanzania.

Knowledge, Health Beliefs and Screening Status of Prostate Cancer among Middle-Aged and Elderly Men

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine and evaluate the level of prostate cancer knowledge and health beliefs among middle-aged and elderly men. Methods: In this descriptive study carried out in December 20, 2015 through January 20, 2016, we enrolled 147 men aged 50 - 70 years old. Data were collected by using three questionnairs including knowledge, health beliefs, and screening status of prostate cancer. Results: Our findings showed that only 20.4% of interviewers had experience of digital rectal examination or prostatic specific antigen test for prostate cancer screening. The prostate cancer knowledge was found to be significantly high in prostate cancer examinees compared to non-examinees. The correct answer rate of prostate cancer knowledge was only 44.7% at average. Despite of good perceived seriousness about prostate cancer, the screening rate was only 20.4% and the examinees indicated significantly high perceived sensitivity compared to non-examinees. The level of the perceived barrier was lower in men who had experience in health examination or prostate cancer examination than without experience. Conclusion: The significant factors including age, educational level, income and cancer insurance status need to be considered in nursing education program in order to deliver accurate knowledge about prostate cancer. Also, the effective interventions are necessary to increase sensitivity and reduce barriers of prostate cancer and screening.

Knowledge and health seeking behavior for malaria among the local inhabitants in an endemic area of Ethiopia: implications for control

This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge and health seeking behavior for malaria among the local inhabitants in an endemic area of Ethiopia: Implications for control. 98.6% and 80.7% of respondents had awareness about malaria and the cause (‘mosquito bite’) of malaria, respectively. 186 (81.6%) respondents seek treatment for a febrile disease from health care facilities. Chi-square analysis revealed a strong association between the edu- cational status of respondents and the measures they take to prevent malaria (Х2 = 58.7;df = 16;p < 0.001). The findings clearly suggest that the majority of the respondents had adequate knowledge and enviable health seeking behaviour. However, still a sizable faction had misconception and undesirable health seeking behaviour. It’s a major barrier to implement effective malaria control strategies in the resource- limited settings particularly in country like Ethiopia. In this context, appropriate communication strategies apparently inevitable. Therefore, appropriate communication strategies should be designed to promote the knowledge and health seeking behaviour of vulnerable section of the society in this vicinity.

How knowledge of hepatitis B disease and vaccine influences vaccination practices among parents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Objective:To assess the influences of the knowledge of parents about hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection and the benefit of HBV vaccination on the practice of HBV vaccination among children.Methods:A prospective cross-sectional study recruited parents whose children,aged 12-24 months,received HBV vaccination at Commune Health Centers(CHCs)in Ho Chi Minh City from Feb.2016 to Jul.2017.Parents were interviewed using a questionnaire that included 11-item binary knowledge questions and checked their children’s vaccination cards.Results:A total of 768 parents had a mean age of(30.8±5.1)years.The mean knowledge score of the 11-item questions was(7.0±2.4).The knowledge score was positively associated with full and timely HBV vaccination.In addition,children who received complete and timely HBV vaccination were significantly more likely to live in rural areas(Adjusted OR 4.02,95%CI 2.79-5.79,P<0.001).Also,children whose parents received vaccination information from health care providers,and had knowledge about HBV risk,had a higher rate of full and timely HBV vaccination(Adjusted OR 1.60,95%CI 1.13-2.29,and Adjusted OR 1.47,95%CI 1.01-2.13,P all<0.05).Conclusions:Parents possessed a great deal of incorrect knowledge about HBV.More health education from health care providers should target parents living in specific locations and focus on the benefits of HBV vaccine.

Tourists’ Behavioural Intention Towards Ecotourism in Bali Under Consideration of Issue-Related Knowledge

Tourists’image about Bali and the motivation to visit the island are firmly based on Bali’s rich culture and tradition as well as its abundant nature.Due to the increasing number of visitors year by year,the island is in urgent need to reduce or even minimize the negative impacts of tourism and the damages done to nature and Balinese society.To improve the quality of tourism,a better understanding of tourists’behavioural intention and actual behaviour is crucial.An essential part of this context and the process of tourists’decision making plays the level of environmental knowledge.Therefore,the study intended to answer the research question:“How does issue-related knowledge influence ecotourism behavioural intention and actual environmental behaviour of tourists?”.A sequential exploratory research method using quantitative and qualitative data from interviews and Focus Group Discussion has been utilized to find more insights.Ajzen’s(1991)“Theory of Planned Behaviour”has been applied in an extended model to analyze whether knowledge influences attitude,intention,and behaviour.The data for the quantitative analyzes were collected 2019 within four weeks through interviews of 264 international and domestic tourists at three nature-based tourism destinations in Bali.The gained data were processed using multiple techniques:descriptive statistical analysis,correlation analysis,and Structural Equation Model(SEM)analysis.The results showed that ecotourism knowledge has a direct impact on tourists’environmental attitudes and their actual environmental behaviour.Although the SEM analysis could not show the direct influence towards ecotourism behavioural intention,this was confirmed by the correlation analysis result with a positive relationship of the latent variables ecotourism knowledge and ecotourism behavioural intention with significant strength.The research findings led to the conclusion that the research question could be confirmed.The level of ecotourism knowledge has a positive influence onenvironmental attitude,behaviour intention,and actual behaviour.

Cardiovascular health awareness,risk perception,behavioural intention and INTERHEART risk stratification among middle-aged adults in Malaysia

Objective:To investigate the interrelationship between cardiovascular health awareness,risk perception,behavioural intention,and INTERHEART risk stratification in a middle-aged adult population in Malaysia.Methods:A cross-sectional survey with convenience sampling was conducted during November 2022 and January 2023.Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing cardiovascular health awareness,risk perception of cardiovascular diseases,behavioural intention towards adopting healthy habits,and INTERHEART risk stratification score(IHRS)based on established risk factors.A total of 602 respondents were included in the final analysis.Data were analysed with independent t-test/one-way ANOVA or Mann-Whitney/Kruskal-Wallis to test the differences,Pearson correlation or linear regression test to analyze the association of independent and dependent variables.Results:There was a significant positive correlation between medical knowledge related to cardiovascular disease(CVD)and knowledge related to CVD risk prevention,risk perception,behavioural intention and IHRS(P<0.05,Pearson correlation).Notably,individuals with higher IHRS tended to have lower knowledge related to CVD and CVD risk prevention,risk perception,and behavioural intention.Males,laborers,active/former smokers,individuals with lower household income and educational levels,those involved in occupations not related to the healthcare sector,and those who did not receive the CVD health brochure or are unaware of health self-assessment tools are likely to have lower levels of knowledge,risk perception,and poorer behavioural intention regarding cardiovascular health(P<0.05,one-way ANOVA).While educational level,smoking status,awareness about CVD poster,self-assessment tools were repeatedly significantly associated with knowledge related to CVD and CVD risk prevention,risk perception,behavioral intention and/or IHRS(P<0.05,linear regression).Conclusions:These findings underscore the importance of promoting cardiovascular health awareness and risk perception among middle-aged adults to foster positive BI and reduce CVD risk.Tailored interventions targeting specific risk factors identified by INTERHEART may enhance risk stratification accuracy and facilitate targeted preventive strategies.

A Health State Prediction Model Based on Belief Rule Base and LSTM for Complex Systems

In industrial production and engineering operations,the health state of complex systems is critical,and predicting it can ensure normal operation.Complex systems have many monitoring indicators,complex coupling structures,non-linear and time-varying characteristics,so it is a challenge to establish a reliable prediction model.The belief rule base(BRB)can fuse observed data and expert knowledge to establish a nonlinear relationship between input and output and has well modeling capabilities.Since each indicator of the complex system can reflect the health state to some extent,the BRB is built based on the causal relationship between system indicators and the health state to achieve the prediction.A health state prediction model based on BRB and long short term memory for complex systems is proposed in this paper.Firstly,the LSTMis introduced to predict the trend of the indicators in the system.Secondly,the Density Peak Clustering(DPC)algorithmis used todetermine referential values of indicators for BRB,which effectively offset the lack of expert knowledge.Then,the predicted values and expert knowledge are fused to construct BRB to predict the health state of the systems by inference.Finally,the effectiveness of the model is verified by a case study of a certain vehicle hydraulic pump.

Community knowledge,attitudes and practices related to schistosomiasis and associated healthcare-seeking behaviours in northern Côte d’Ivoire and southern Mauritania

Background:Among parasitic infections,schistosomiasis ranks second after malaria in terms of worldwide morbidity.Despite efforts to contain transmission,more than 230 million people are infected,of which 85%live in Sub-Saharan Africa.While the epidemiologic characteristics of schistosomiasis have been extensively studied across endemic settings,social factors have been paid less attention.The current study assesses community knowledge of schistosomiasis causes,transmission,signs,symptoms and prevention,as well as healthcare-seeking behaviours in two West African settings,with the aim of strengthening schistosomiasis control interventions.Methods:From August 2014 to June 2015,we conducted two cross-sectional surveys in Korhogo,Cote d’Ivoire and Kaedi,Mauritania.We applied a questionnaire to collect quantitative data at the household level in Korhogo(n=1456)and Kaedi(n=1453).Focus group discussions(Korhogo:n=32,Kaedi:n=32)and participatory photography(photovoice)(Korhogo:n=16,Kaedi:n=16)were conducted within the communities to gather qualitative data.In addition,semi-structured interviews were used to discuss with key informants from control programmes,nongovernmental organizations and health districts(Korhogo:n=8,Kaedi:n=7).Results:The study demonstrated that schistosomiasis is not well known by the communities;64.1%claimed to know the causes of the disease,but the reality is different.This knowledge is more from cultural than biomedical source.It was observed that social construction of the disease is different from the biomedical definition.In Korhogo,schistosomiasis was often associated with several other diseases,notably stomach ulcer and gonorrhoea.The populations believe that schistosomiasis is caused by exposure to goat or dog urine in the environment.In Kaedi,schistosomiasis is considered as a disease transmitted by environmenal elements such as sunshine and dirty water.In both settings,the care-seeking pathways were found to be strongly influenced by local customs and self-medication acquired from the informal sector.Conclusions:This study revealed that knowledge about the aetiology,transmission,symptoms,prevention and treatment of schistosomiasis among the populations in Korhogo and Kaedi is based on their local culture.Deep-rooted habits could therefore pose a significant obstacle to the elimination of schistosomiasis.

Transition clinic attendance is associated with improved beliefs and attitudes toward medicine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

To evaluated the differences in knowledge, adherence, attitudes, and beliefs about medicine in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) attending transition clinics. METHODSWe prospectively enrolled patients from July 2012 to June 2013. All adolescents who attended a tertiary-centre-based dedicated IBD transition clinic were invited to participate. Adolescent controls were recruited from university-affiliated gastroenterology offices. Participants completed questionnaires about their disease and reported adherence to prescribed therapy. Beliefs in Medicine Questionnaire was used to evaluate patients’ attitudes and beliefs. Beliefs of medication overuse, harm, necessity and concerns were rated on a Likert scale. Based on necessity and concern ratings, attitudes were then characterized as accepting, ambivalent, skeptical and indifferent. RESULTSOne hundred and twelve adolescents were included and 59 attended transition clinics. Self-reported adherence rates were poor, with only 67.4% and 56.8% of patients on any IBD medication were adherent in the transition and control groups, respectively. Adolescents in the transition cohort held significantly stronger beliefs that medications were necessary (P = 0.0035). Approximately 20% of adolescents in both cohorts had accepting attitudes toward their prescribed medicine. However, compared to the control group, adolescents in the transition cohort were less skeptical of (6.8% vs 20.8%) and more ambivalent (61% vs 34%) (OR = 0.15; 95%CI: 0.03-0.75; P = 0.02) to treatment. CONCLUSIONAttendance at dedicated transition clinics was associated with differences in attitudes in adolescents with IBD.