Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31194804›Full record

ArticlePloS one2019

Assessment of urogenital schistosomiasis knowledge among primary and junior high school students in the Eastern Region of Ghana: A cross-sectional study.

Rachel A Martel, Bernard Gyamfi Osei, Alexandra V Kulinkina, Elena N Naumova, Abdul Aziz Abdulai, David Tybor, Karen Claire Kosinski

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Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Rachel A MartelDepartment of Community Health, Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Bernard Gyamfi OseiUniversity College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies, Bunso, Eastern Region, Ghana.
Alexandra V KulinkinaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Elena N NaumovaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Abdul Aziz AbdulaiGhana Health Service, Atimpoku, Eastern Region, Ghana.
David TyborDepartment of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Karen Claire KosinskiDepartment of Community Health, Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-5056-7716

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundKnowledge of urogenital schistosomiasis can empower individuals to limit surface water contact and participate in mass drug administration campaigns, but nothing is currently known about the schistosomiasis knowledge that schoolchildren have in Ghana. We developed and implemented a survey tool aiming to assess the knowledge of urogenital schistosomiasis (treatment, transmission, prevention, symptoms) among science teaches and primary and junior high school students in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

methodsWe developed a 22-question knowledge survey tool and administered it to 875 primary and 938 junior high school students from 74 schools in 37 communities in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Teachers (n = 57) answered 20 questions matched to student questions. We compared knowledge scores (as percent of correct answers) across topics, gender, and class year and assessed associations with teacher's knowledge scores using t-tests, chi-squared tests, univariate, and multivariate linear regression, respectively.

resultsStudents performed best when asked about symptoms (mean±SD: 76±21% correct) and prevention (mean±SD: 69±25% correct) compared with transmission (mean±SD: 50±15% correct) and treatment (mean±SD: 44±23% correct) (p<0.0005). Teachers performed best on prevention (mean±SD: 93±12% correct, p<0.0005) and poorest on treatment (mean±SD: 69±16% correct, p<0.001). When listing five facts about urogenital schistosomiasis, teachers averaged 2.9±1.2 correct. Multiple regression models suggest that gender, class year, teacher score, and town of residency explain ~27% of variability in student scores. On average, junior high school students outperformed primary school students by 10.2 percentage points (CI95%: 8.6-11.8); boys outperformed girls by 3.5 percentage points (CI95%: 2.3-4.7).

conclusionsOur survey parsed four components of student and teacher knowledge. We found strong knowledge in several realms, as well as knowledge gaps, especially on transmission and treatment. Addressing relevant gaps among students and science teachers in UGS-endemic areas may help high-risk groups recognize risky water contact activities, improve participation in mass drug administration, and spark interest in science by making it practical.

Indexed as

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeSchoolsAdolescentCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGhanaHealth EducationHumansMaleSchistosomiasis haematobiaSchool TeachersStudents

Identifiers

PMID31194804
PMCPMC6563970

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.