ArticleTropical medicine and health2025
High awareness, inadequate practices: a cross-sectional KAP study on Chagas disease in an endemic Venezuelan community.
Article in Tropical medicine and health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a significant public health problem in Venezuela, with evidence of re-emerging transmission and increasing concern over non-vectorial routes such as oral and congenital transmission. Effective public health strategies require a clear understanding of community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). This study aimed to characterize and identify predictors of KAP regarding Chagas disease in a rural, endemic community in Portuguesa state, Venezuela.
methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in September 2024 in the "Virgen de Coromoto" community. Participants aged 18 and older were recruited via non-probabilistic sampling. Data were collected using a pre-validated 57-item questionnaire covering sociodemographic aspects, knowledge, attitudes, and practices. KAP levels were categorized as high/low, positive/negative, and appropriate/inappropriate using a data-driven two-step cluster analysis. Binomial logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with these KAP outcomes.
resultsA total of 317 individuals participated in the study. The median age was 36 years, and 57.7% (n = 183) were female. While a majority of participants demonstrated high knowledge (59.3%) and positive attitudes (57.4%), a significant proportion engaged in inappropriate preventive practices (61.8%). Knowledge deficits were identified concerning non-vectorial transmission routes, with only 24.9% correctly identifying contaminated food/juices and 40.7% identifying blood transfusions as risks. Women of reproductive age had significantly lower knowledge scores compared to the rest of the population (median score 9 vs. 11, p < 0.001). Being a woman of reproductive age (aOR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.04-2.95, p = 0.034) and having negative attitudes (aOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.09-3.03, p = 0.021) were significant predictors of low knowledge. Having metallic screens on windows and doors was associated with a lower likelihood of inappropriate practices (aOR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.22-0.97, p = 0.04).
conclusionsDespite generally high awareness, a critical disconnect exists between knowledge and protective behaviours in this endemic community. Specific vulnerabilities, including poor understanding of oral and congenital transmission routes and lower knowledge among women of reproductive age, pose significant risks. These findings underscore the need for targeted, evidence-based educational interventions that move beyond general awareness to address specific behavioural barriers and protect vulnerable groups.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.