Venezuela: violence, human rights, and health-care realities

Oletta, José Felix; Orihuela, R; Pulido, Pablo; Walter, Carlos

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(14)60532-8

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Individual and household-related interviews were conducted targeting adults and parents/guardians of children living in the area of study. Because of violence in the country and in our area of study during anti-governmental protests in February and March 2014 [ 36 – 38 ], the original sample size of 260 subjects was not reached. Overall, 105 individuals were interviewed where 54 interviews referred to HSB of adults (“adult questionnaire”) and 51 to caregivers of children (“child questionnaire”).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Seeking Behaviour and Treatment Intentions of Dengue and Fever: A Household Survey of Children and Adults in Venezuela

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundDengue in Venezuela is a major public health problem with an increasing incidence of severe cases. Early diagnosis and timely treatment influences the outcome of dengue illness, as delay in care-seeking is significantly associated with complications leading to severe dengue. We aimed to understand patterns of health seeking behaviour (HSB) in individuals exposed to high dengue incidence in order to improve early attendance to health centres.MethodsBetween September 2013 and February 2014 a cross-sectional household survey was performed in Maracay, Venezuela. Intended HSB of adults and children’s parents/guardians was assessed with respect to fever or suspected dengue. Data was collected through structured questionnaires from 105 individuals.ResultsMost individuals felt at risk of dengue and believed it could be a deadly disease. In the case of suspected dengue, the majority (60%) would choose to first seek medical help versus first treating at home, in contrast to 11% in the case of fever. Amongst those who decided to visit a doctor, a suspected dengue infection would prompt them to search medical help earlier than if having only fever (p<0.001). Multivariate analysis modelling showed that the independent factors associated with the intention to firstly visit a doctor versus treating at home in the case of dengue were feeling at risk (OR = 3.29; p = 0.042) and being an adult (as opposed to caring for a child as a parent/guardian; OR = 3.33, p = 0.021), while having had a previous dengue infection (OR = 0.29; p = 0.031) and living in the neighbourhood Caña de Azúcar (OR = 0.28, p = 0.038) were negatively associated with seeking medical care as their first action.ConclusionKnowledge of HSB related to dengue is scarce in the Americas, our study attempts to contribute to a better understanding of HSB in this region. Improving early dengue disease recognition and awareness may enhance prompt attendance to medical care in affected populations and thereby reduce mortality and severity of dengue. Especially for those with a previous dengue infection, efforts have to be made to promote prompt health centre attendance.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Seeking Behaviour and Treatment Intentions of Dengue and Fever: A Household Survey of Children and Adults in Venezuela

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…18,36 Shortage of piped-water supply has worsened in recent years in Venezuela, prompting people to store water intra-domiciliary maintaining adequate breeding conditions for dengue vectors during the dry season and throughout the year. 17,18,36,37 The relationship between irregular water supply, water storage in the community, and an increase in Ae. aegypti habitats has been described before.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…45 Similar attitudes are reported in other countries such as Cuba, 46 Yemen, 47 Curaçao, 48 Pakistan, 29 and Puerto Rico. 27 Because of anti-governmental protests in early 2014 in Venezuela, [17][18][19] we were not able to carry out all the 260 intended interviews, resulting in a smaller sample size of 105. This reduced the possibility of detecting associations that are small or moderate in magnitude.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…16 A subsample of 260 households of the cohort study was randomly selected for the cross-sectional KAP survey that is described here. However, individuals from 105 households were finally interviewed because violence during antigovernmental protests in February and March 2014 in the country [17][18][19] precluded the enrolment of further individuals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Preventive Practices Regarding Dengue in Maracay, Venezuela

Elsinga

Schmidt

Lizarazo

et al. 2018

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dengue, a viral mosquito-borne disease currently affects more than 2.5 billion people living in endemic areas worldwide. In vector control, social mobilization and community behavioral changes are of crucial importance. Here, we identified the factors influencing community dengue preventive practices in a high-transmission urban area in Venezuela. Between September 2013 and February 2014, a cross-sectional study at the household level was carried out in Maracay city, Venezuela. A precoded questionnaire was used to obtain information on people's knowledge, attitudes, and use of preventive practices in relation to dengue. Concomitantly, entomological data was collected from households. In 80% of the 105 included households, 1-5 preventive practices (e.g., repellents, insecticides) against mosquito bites were used. However, 57% of the examined houses had potential breeding sites indoors and/or outdoors, most of which positive for spp. larvae/pupae. Preventive practices were associated with a previous dengue infection ( = 0.030) and a better knowledge on dengue symptoms and transmission route ( = 0.020). In turn, knowledge was associated with feeling at risk ( < 0.001), a previous dengue infection ( = 0.010), and reported exposure to information sources of dengue ( = 0.011). Even though the knowledge level of the community over transmission ways was high, and most of the individuals took measures to avoid mosquito bites, potential mosquito breeding sites were present in almost two-thirds of the examined properties. Health promotion activities in Venezuela should aim at raising awareness at the community level on the importance of combining mosquito bite prevention with removal of breeding sites in and around the households.

show abstract

“…Unfortunately, no effective licensed vaccine is yet available in the market, leaving most endemic countries to rely on vector control measures. As with other vector-borne diseases such as malaria [3,4], in some of those countries like Venezuela and other Latin American nations, the control path for these diseases seems like a slow and painfully hard road.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%