Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Hygiene and the Prevention of Trachoma in the Indigenous Population of the Colombian Amazon Vaupés Department

Julián Trujillo-Trujillo (), Mónica Meza-Cárdenas, Sol Beatriz Sánchez, Sara Milena Zamora, Alexandra Porras, Clara Beatriz López de Mesa, Luz Mery Bernal Parra, María Consuelo Bernal Lizarazú, Hollman Miller and Juan Carlos Silva
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Julián Trujillo-Trujillo: Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia
Mónica Meza-Cárdenas: Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia
Sol Beatriz Sánchez: Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia
Sara Milena Zamora: Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia
Alexandra Porras: Grupo de Medicina Comunitaria y Salud Colectiva, Maestría en Epidemiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá 110111, Colombia
Clara Beatriz López de Mesa: Escuela Superior de Oftalmología, Instituto Barraquer de América, Bogotá 110321, Colombia
Luz Mery Bernal Parra: Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud—ECISA, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, UNAD, Bogotá 111511, Colombia
María Consuelo Bernal Lizarazú: Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud—ECISA, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, UNAD, Bogotá 111511, Colombia
Hollman Miller: Department of Vaupés, Secretariate of Health, Mitú 970001, Colombia
Juan Carlos Silva: Independent Researcher, Bogotá 110111, Colombia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: The Colombian program to end trachoma implements the component F of the SAFE strategy in the Vaupés department of the Amazon rainforest. Cultural, linguistic, and geographical barriers and the coexistence of an ancestral medical system demand the technical and sociocultural adaptation of this component. A cross-sectional survey combined with focus-group discussions to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the indigenous population related to trachoma was conducted in 2015. Of the 357 heads of households that participated, 45.1% associated trachoma with a lack of hygiene, and 94.7% associated the concept of hygiene with taking one or more body baths per day, using commercial or handcrafted soap. In total, 93% reported cleaning their children’s faces and eyes more often when they have conjunctivitis, but 66.1% also did this with clothes or towels in use, and 52.7% of people shared towels; in total, 32.8% indicated that they would use ancestral medicine to prevent and treat trachoma. The SAFE strategy in Vaupés requires an intercultural approach to facilitate stakeholder support and participation to promote general and facial hygiene, washing clothes with soap, and not sharing towels and clothes to dry and clean children’s faces for effective and sustainable elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. This qualitative assessment facilitated an intercultural approach locally and in other Amazonian locations.

Keywords: SAFE strategy; indigenous population; face washing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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