Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of onchocerciasis prevention and control in becho woreda, illu ababora, oromia regional state, south west Ethiopia

Abstract

Onchocerciasis is a filarial disease caused by onchocerca volvulus and transmitted by a black fly. Onchocerciasis is a killer of livestock and wild animals so Onchocerciasis prevention and control is helpful for health planners and health educators providing basic information to focus on its prevention and control. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of onchocerciasis prevention and control in Becho woreda, Illu Ababora, Oromia regional state, south west Ethiopia, 2018. Community based cross sectional study design was employed through systematic sampling technique. The data were collected from every seven houses after randomly selecting the first house from 1 to 7 until calculated sample size reached. A total of 322 households included in the study. A structured questionnaire was used for gathering the data. Data was coded, entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 16. Out of 322 respondents; 177(59%) were male and 123(41%) were female. The response rate was 300(93%) and the age of respondents ranged from 18-60 years and the majority were 26-45 years with the mean age of 31 years. The study showed that only 59(19.7%) of the total respondents knew the right cause of onchocerciasis and majority of them 233(77.7%) responded that black fly is the cause of the disease. Of the study population, 66% had poor knowledge, 4.7% had unfavorable attitude and 77.3% of them had unsafe practice. As in the result, the study undergone on onchocerciasis prevention and control program showed that; of the study population, 66% had poor knowledge, 4.7% had unfavorable attitude and 77.3% of them had unsafe practice.