STH surveillance in Benin: Analyzing why community members do or do not provide a stool sample

What is it about?

Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are a group of intestinal parasites infecting approximately 1.5 billion people globally and resulting in significant adverse health outcomes. STH surveillance is conducted across endemic regions to assess prevalence of infection, to identify areas for mass drug administration implementation, and to monitor progress. The World Health Organization targets the elimination of STH as a public health problem in endemic settings with research currently being conducted to determine the feasibility of interrupting transmission of STH. In order to optimally design and manage programs towards these goals, and to verify whether elimination of STH as a public health problem has occurred, improvements in surveillance are needed. This mixed-methods study took place in Comé, Benin in association with the DeWorm3 Project, to identify drivers of non-participation in stool-based STH surveillance. This study found that certain individuals are more likely to refuse to participate in STH surveillance activities than others, including adults, individuals in urban areas, short-term residents in communities, and those perceiving their families to not be at risk for STH.

Featured Image

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Why is it important?

As STH surveillance is intensified, programs will need to reimagine how surveillance is conducted to address community concerns and ensure that no subpopulations are inadvertently excluded from surveillance data.