ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2023
Beliefs, attitudes and practices towards scabies in central Ghana.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 8 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evidence based targeting of districts for active surveillance of skin-related neglected tropical diseases in Ghana.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence of scabies and community knowledge, attitudes, and practices on the disease in the middle belt of Ghana.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Exploring perceptions on vulnerabilities and resilience to scabies among street children: a qualitative study in Ethiopia.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Prevalence ofIJID regions · 2024Article
- Stigma experiences, effects and coping among individuals affected by Buruli ulcer and yaws in Ghana.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Prevalence and determinants of impetigo in Ghana: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Burden of scabies in a Ghanaian penitentiary.PloS one · 2024Article
- Correction: Beliefs, attitudes and practices towards scabies in central Ghana.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundScabies commonly affects poor populations in low-middle-income countries. The WHO has advocated for country-driven and country-owned control strategies. Knowledge of context specific issues will be important for design and implementation of scabies control interventions. We aimed to assess beliefs, attitudes and practices towards scabies in central Ghana. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsData was collected via semi-structured questionnaires for people who had active scabies or scabies in the past year and people who never had scabies in the past. The questionnaire covered several domains: knowledge about the causes and risk factors; perceptions towards stigmatisation and consequences of scabies in daily life; and treatment practices. Out of 128 participants, 67 were in the (former) scabies group and had a mean age of 32.3 ± 15.6 years. Overall scabies group participants less often indicated a factor to predispose to scabies than community controls; only 'family/friends contacts' was more often mentioned in the scabies group. Scabies causation was attributed to poor hygiene, traditional beliefs, heredity and drinking water. Individuals with scabies delay care seeking (median time from symptom onset to visiting the health centre was 21 [14 - 30] days) and this delay is enhanced by their beliefs (like witchcraft and curses) and a perception of limited disease severity. Compared to past scabies participants in the dermatology clinic, participants with past scabies in the community tended to have a longer delay (median [IQR] 30 [14-48.8] vs 14 [9.5-30] days, p = 0.002). Scabies was associated with health consequences, stigma, and loss of productivity. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Early diagnosis and effective treatment of scabies can lead to persons less frequently associating scabies with witchcraft and/ or curses. There is the need to enhance health education to promote early care seeking, enhance knowledge of communities on impact and dispel negative perceptions about scabies in Ghana.
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Registered trials
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.