ArticleTropical medicine & international health : TM & IH2018
Preliminary assessment of the computer-based Taenia solium educational program 'The Vicious Worm' on knowledge uptake in primary school students in rural areas in eastern Zambia.
Article in Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- A qualitative assessment of the context and enabling environment for the control of Taenia solium infections in endemic settings.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Economic methods and spatial scales in One Health: Results from a scoping review.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- Impact of Health Education Interventions for Control ofPublic health challenges · 2025Review
- Ethical dimensions of zoonotic disease research: Perspectives of traditional livestock keepers in Zambia.Wellcome open research · 2022Article
- The Contribution of Community Health Education to Sustainable Control of the Neglected Zoonotic Diseases.Frontiers in public health · 2021Review
- Effects of 'The Vicious Worm' educational software on Taenia solium knowledge among key pork supply chain workers in Zambia.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Perceptions and acceptability of piloted Taenia solium control and elimination interventions in two endemic communities in eastern Zambia.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2020Article
- Zoonotic and vector-borne parasites and epilepsy in low-income and middle-income countries.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2020Review
- Effects of 'The Vicious Worm' educational tool on Taenia solium knowledge retention in Zambian primary school students after one year.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2019Article
- Review
- Recent advancements in the control ofFood and waterborne parasitology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe zoonotic helminth Taenia solium is endemic in Zambia, causing human (taeniasis and (neuro)cysticercosis) and pig (porcine cysticercosis) diseases with high health, social and economic burdens. We aimed to evaluate the impact of a health educational program intended to lead to powerful and cumulative improvements in knowledge, attitudes and practices that decrease parasite transmission and disease occurrence.
methodsHalf-day health education workshops were conducted in three primary schools in the highly endemic Eastern Province of Zambia, using the computer-based T. solium educational program 'The Vicious Worm'. Questionnaires were administered before and after the educational component to determine the program's impact on knowledge uptake in primary school students.
resultsIn total, 99 students participated: 38 males and 61 females, with a median age of 14 years (range 10-18 years). Baseline general knowledge of T. solium, including awareness of the different human and pig disease states, and disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention, was quite high (average score 62%) and consistent across all three study areas. Participants' knowledge had significantly increased after the educational component, particularly regarding parasite transmission and disease prevention.
conclusionPreliminary assessment of 'The Vicious Worm' indicates it is an effective tool for the short-term T. solium education of primary school students in Zambia. Follow-up studies are planned to assess the longer term impact of the program on knowledge uptake in the study neighbourhoods. Inclusion of tailored 'The Vicious Worm' educational workshops should be considered in integrated cysticercosis control programs in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa.
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