Podoconiosis in Rwanda: Knowledge, attitudes and practices among health professionals and environmental officers

Abstract

Background Podoconiosis is a neglected tropical disease commonly found in volcanic regions, where soil is rich in silica. It usually manifests as bilateral lower limb edema. The majority of people affected by podoconiosis are farmers who do not wear shoes. The condition was recently documented in all 30 districts in Rwanda but knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Rwandan health professionals and environmental officers towards podoconiosis are unknown.

Knowledge, attitude, practice and associated factors of health professionals towards podoconiosis in Gamo zone, Ethiopia, 2019

“…These kinds of beliefs may imply health care providers ignored the value for treatment and their profession. Our findings were supported by studies done in Ethiopia and Rwanda [ 13 – 15 ].…”

“…Fifty five percent of participants correctly answered that not wearing shoes is risk factor for podoconiosis. This is finding is almost similar with study done in Rwanda in which about 61% of study subjects knew that walking barefoot was a risk factor for acquiring podoconiosis [ 13 ]. The possible explanation for this result may be similar interventions like training to health professionals on lymphoedema management, community mobilization and sensitization in podoconiosis endemic districts has been conducted by the two countries.…”

“…This study investigated that more than three fourths of respondents had good knowledge towards the disease. On the contrary, in Rwanda about 60% of health professionals had good knowledge [ 13 ]. This difference might be due to efforts done by ministry of health Ethiopia and Mossy Foot Association on prevention and control measures like training health workers on LMMDP increased the knowledge of the study subjects.…”

Solving the Puzzle of Global Health Inequity: Completing the Picture Piece by Piece by Piece

“…The number of unique publications for each foundational research question are provided in parentheses. For Foundational Research Question One, for example, one original research publication (Bayisenge et al, 2020 ) addressed both Foundational Research Questions One and Two, and one review publication (Scheiner et al, 2020 ) addressed Foundational Research Questions One, Two, and Five.…”

“…Characteristics of Individuals: Other Personal Attributes What clinical practices are key to eradicating global health inequities? •Protocols and checklists must be culturally sensitive, contextually tailored, and followed •All healthcare providers must be valued for their contribution •Access to adequate resources is essential *Scheiner et al ( 2020 ), *Bayisenge et al ( 2020 ), *Ndayambaje et al ( 2020 ), Solomon et al ( 2020 ), *Nduwayezu et al ( 2020 ), Hines et al ( 2020a ), Odland et al ( 2020 ), Rosa et al ( 2020 ), *Leckning et al ( 2020 ), Griffiths and Carey ( 2020 ) I. Intervention characteristics: Adaptability; complexity; design quality and packaging; cost III.…”