Publication Date
2016
Document Type
Article
Keywords
Epidemiologic surveillance, Community participation, Influenza, Guatemala
Abstract
Background
Early detection of emergent influenza strains is a global health priority. However, maintaining active surveillance is economically and logistically challenging. While community-based surveillance is an attractive alternative, design and operation of an effective epidemiological surveillance program requires community engagement that can be linked to public health reporting and response. We report the results of a study in rural Guatemalan communities aimed at identifying opportunities for and barriers to community engagement in disease surveillance.
Methods
Using an ethnographic approach followed by a descriptive cross-sectional survey, we documented local terms and ideas about animal illnesses, including the possibility of animal-human transmission.
Results
The community perceived disease causation principally in terms of changes in the physical environment and weather and categorized illnesses using local terminology based on observable clinical signs. Knowledge about prevention and treatment was derived predominantly from local networks of family and friends without evidence of professionally-based knowledge being regularly introduced into the community.
Conclusions
Bridging the divide between professional and community-based descriptive disease terminology, incorporating animal and human health responsiveness to common illnesses, and providing professional knowledge into the community-based networks were identified as addressable challenges to effective implementation of community-based surveillance.
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Statement
Copyright held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Alejandro Cerón , Maria Renee Ortiz, Danilo Álvarez, Guy H. Palmer, Celia Cordón-Rosales
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
9 pgs
File Size
421 KB
Publication Title
International Journal for Equity in Health
First Page
1
Last Page
9
ISSN
1475-9276
Recommended Citation
Cerón, A., Ortiz, M. R., Álvarez, D., Palmer, G. H., & Cordón-Rosales, C. (2016). Local disease concepts relevant to the design of a community-based surveillance program for influenza in rural Guatemala. International Journal for Equity in Health, 15(69). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0359-z
DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0359-z
Comments
Original publication available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0359-z