Onchocerciasis Knowledge among Crop Farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4314/njpar.v45i2.18Keywords:
Onchocerciasis, Knowledge, Crop farmers, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Enugu StateAbstract
Onchocerciasis is an endemic disease in Enugu State that imposes a debilitating medical and economic burden on crop farmers. This study assessed crop farmers’ knowledge of Enugu State. A cross-sectional survey of 372 farmers, selected through a multistage sampling technique, was conducted using the Onchocerciasis Knowledge Questionnaire (OKQ). It elicited responses regarding
the causes, signs and symptoms, preventive measures, and treatment/treatment options. The results indicated that farmers had poor knowledge (46.4%). The respondents had good knowledge of causation (68.5%) and treatment options (56.7%) but exhibited poor knowledge of signs and symptoms (30.1%) and preventive measures (33.1%). They also exhibited substantial misconceptions
about Onchocerciasis. The study also found that females (77.5%) were more knowledgeable than males (68.7%), that those with only primary education (88.9 %) were more knowledgeable, and that older farmers (75.4%) were more knowledgeable than younger farmers. Independent bivariate logistic regression indicated that a statistically significant association existed between marital status
and knowledge and between level of education and knowledge, while the association between gender and knowledge, and age and knowledge was not significant at a significance level of 0.05. It was recommended that health education programmes be mounted by requisite State Ministries and Parastatals to arm residents with the knowledge for personal protection and to contribute effectively to ongoing intervention programmes in Enugu State.
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