• Corpus ID: 2126740

The knowledge, attitude and perception of onchocerciasis and ivermectin treatment by the people in Okpuje, Edo State, Nigeria

@inproceedings{Wogu2008TheKA,
  title={The knowledge, attitude and perception of onchocerciasis and ivermectin treatment by the people in Okpuje, Edo State, Nigeria},
  author={Macdonald Daniel Wogu and Christopher E. Okaka},
  year={2008}
}

• M. Wogu, C. Okaka
• Published 2008
• Medicine

The study was carried out to determine the knowledge, attitude and perception of onchocerciasis and its treatment with ivermectin by the people of Okpuje, an endemic community in Edo State, Nigeria. A four-step approach involving: a structured questionnaire, personal interview, physical examination and group discussion, were used in the study. Two hundred (200) volunteers, over ten years of age, were randomly chosen for the study. 61 persons (30.5%) inadequate knowledge of the disease but 139 subjects (69.5%) were ignorant of onchocerciasis. Adequate knowledge has a significant effect on the prevalence of onchocerciasis (P 0.05). Members of the community need to be educated and sufficiently mobilized to appreciate onchocerciasis as a health problem so as to positively change their attitude, perception and level of awareness of the disease and the efficacy of ivermectin treatment. That in turn should greatly increase the distribution coverage and acceptance level of ivermectin used for the control of onchocerciasis in the community.