KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES (KAP) OF HUMAN INTESTINAL HELMINTHS (WORMS) IN 2 RURAL COMMUNITIES IN NYANZA PROVINCE, WESTERN KENYA

Six common health problems prevalent in two rural communities - Buoye and Kanyawegi Sublocations - of Kisumu District, in Western Kenya, wer e selected and the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the com munities investigated with special reference to human intestinal helmi nths (worms). The selected diseases were malaria, diarrhoea, human int estinal helminths, scabies, schistosomiasis, and measles. The selectio n of the six health problems was based on a previous more general KAP study of health and disease at household level in the two areas and in formation from the Medical Officer of Health in the area. The specific objective was to assess the perceived importance of intestinal worms vis-a-vis other common and known health problems in the community. The study included an analysis of responses to questions on human intesti nal worms broken down by sex, age and education level of respondents a s well as identification and perceived health effects of a set of vect ors and parasites of common diseases in the area. Compared with the ot her five health problems, intestinal worms did not rank highly in peop le's minds as an important health problem, although very high proporti ons of respondents knew of the problem, notably the young and educated . This high proportion of respondents who knew of the problem could de scribe the symptoms with some accuracy and could correctly identify th e vectors and parasite samples. But the full implications of intestina l worms were not fully appreciated. Both communities reflected relativ ely poor comprehension of causes, treatment and methods of prevention. Sex, age and educational level affected the KAP of worms - the differ ence being more obvious in Buoye but many of the trends were also appa rent in Kanyawegi. A baseline survey of human intestinal parasitoses ( helminths and protozoa) conducted in the two areas after the KAP surve y showed an overall prevalence of 53.2% (with 37.3% intestinal helmint hs and 34.4% intestinal protozoa) in Kanyawegi and 52.2% (with 32.4% i ntestinal helminths and 34.8% intestinal protozoa) in Buoye.