| Autor: |
Trujillo-Trujillo J; Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia.; Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud-ECISA, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, UNAD, Bogotá 111511, Colombia., Meza-Cárdenas M; Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia.; Grupo de Medicina Comunitaria y Salud Colectiva, Maestría en Epidemiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá 110111, Colombia., Sánchez SB; Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia., Zamora SM; Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Bogotá 110311, Colombia., Porras A; Grupo de Medicina Comunitaria y Salud Colectiva, Maestría en Epidemiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá 110111, Colombia., López de Mesa CB; Escuela Superior de Oftalmología, Instituto Barraquer de América, Bogotá 110321, Colombia., Bernal Parra LM; Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud-ECISA, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, UNAD, Bogotá 111511, Colombia., Bernal Lizarazú MC; Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud-ECISA, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, UNAD, Bogotá 111511, Colombia., Miller H; Department of Vaupés, Secretariate of Health, Mitú 970001, Colombia., Silva JC; Independent Researcher, Bogotá 110111, Colombia. |
| Abstrakt: |
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. |
