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BACKGROUND: Malaria remains a public health problem in regions of Northeastern India because of favourable bio-geographic transmission conditions, poor access to routine healthcare, and inadequate infrastructure for public health and disease prevention. This study was undertaken to better understand community members' and health workers' perceptions of malaria, as well as their knowledge, attitudes, and prevention practices related to the disease in Meghalaya state. METHODS: The study included participants from three malaria endemic districts: West Khasi Hills, West Jaiñtia Hills, and South Garo Hills from 2019 to 2021. A total of 82 focus group discussions (FGD) involving 694 community members and 63 in-depth interviews (IDI) with health personnel and traditional healers residing within the three districts were conducted. A thematic content analysis approach was employed, using NVivo12 software for data management. RESULTS: Most participants reported a perceived reduction in malaria during recent years, attributing this to changes in attitudes and behaviours in health seeking, and to more effective government interventions. Local availability of testing and treatment, and an improved, more responsive health system contributed to changing attitudes. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) were largely preferred over indoor residual spraying (IRS), as LLINs were perceived to be effective and more durable. Community members also reported using personal protective measures such as applying repellents, burning neem tree leaves, straw/egg trays, wearing long sleeve clothes, and applying ointments or oils to protect themselves from mosquito bites. While most participants acknowledged the role of mosquitoes in malaria transmission, other conditions that are not mosquito-borne were also attributed to mosquitoes by some participants. The communities surveyed have largely shifted from seeking treatment for malaria from traditional healers to using public facilities, although some participants reported switching between the two or using both simultaneously. Improved understanding of cerebral malaria, which some participants previously attributed to mental illness due to 'bad spirits', is an example of how cultural and ritualistic practices have changed. CONCLUSION: The findings reveal diverse perceptions among community members regarding malaria, its prevention, practices to prevent mosquito-transmitted diseases, and their opinions about the healthcare system. A key finding was the shift in malaria treatment-seeking preferences of community members from traditional healers to the public sector. This shift highlights the changing dynamics and increasing acceptance of modern healthcare practices for malaria treatment and prevention within tribal and/or indigenous communities. By recognizing these evolving attitudes, policymakers and healthcare providers can better tailor their interventions and communication strategies to more effectively address ongoing needs and concerns as India faces the 'last mile' in malaria elimination.
Assuntos
Inseticidas , Malária Cerebral , Animais , Humanos , Pessoal de Saúde , Índia/epidemiologia , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Grupos FocaisRESUMO
Meghalaya, a state in the northeastern region of India, had a markedly low vaccine uptake compared to the other states in the country when COVID-19 vaccines were being rolled out in 2021. This study aimed to characterize the distinct vaccine-hesitant subpopulations in healthcare and community settings in Meghalaya state in the early days of the vaccination program. We used data from a cross-sectional survey that was administered to 200 healthcare workers (HCWs) and 200 community members, who were a priori identified as 'vaccine-eligible' and 'vaccine-hesitant,' in Shillong city, Meghalaya, in May 2021. The questionnaire collected information on participants' sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 history, and presence of medical comorbidities. Participants were also asked to provide a dichotomous answer to a set of 19 questions, probing the reasons for their hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines. A multiple correspondence analysis, followed by an agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis, was performed to identify the distinct clusters of vaccine-hesitant participants. We identified seven clusters: indecisive HCWs (n = 71), HCWs skeptical of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines (n = 128), highly educated male tribal/clan leaders concerned about infertility and future pregnancies (n = 14), less educated adults influenced by leaders and family (n = 47), older adults worried about vaccine safety (n = 76), middle-aged adults without young children (n = 56), and highly educated ethnic/religious minorities with misinformation (n = 8). Across all the clusters, perceived logistical challenges associated with receiving the vaccine was identified as a common factor contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Our study findings provide valuable insights for local and state health authorities to effectively target distinct subgroups of vaccine-hesitant populations with tailored health messaging, and also call for a comprehensive approach to address the common drivers of vaccine hesitancy in communities with low vaccination rates.
RESUMO
Background: In large supplementary feeding programs for children, it is challenging to create and sustain contextual, acceptable, nutritionally complete, and diverse supplemental foods. For example, the Indian Supplementary Nutrition Program (SNP) supplements the dietary intake of children, pregnant and lactating women, and severely acutely malnourished (SAM) children by offering dry take home rations (THRs) or hot cooked meals (HCMs) across India, but an optimization tool is necessary to create local contextual recipes for acceptable and nutritionally adequate products. Objectives: This study aimed to create a linear programming (LP) model to optimize diverse food provisions for a SNP to meet its program guidelines, using locally available foods, within budgetary allocations. Methods: A LP algorithm with appropriate constraints was used to generate an optimal THR based on raw foods, or an optimal weekly HCM menu comprised of a lunch meal with mid-morning snacks, based on user choices of foods and recipes. The database of foods used was created by a prospective survey conducted across all states of India for this purpose, such that the recipe and food optimization was diverse and specific to the guidelines for each beneficiary group. Results: An interactive web-based app, which can optimize feeding programs at any population level, was developed for use by program implementers and is hosted at https://www.datatools.sjri.res.in/SNP/. In the Indian example analyzed here, the recommended optimized diets met the guidelines for diversified and nutritionally complete SNP provision but at a cost that was almost 25% higher than the present Indian budget allocation. Conclusions: The optimization model developed demonstrates that contextual SNP diets can be created to meet macronutrient and most essential micronutrient needs of large-scale feeding programs, but appropriate diversification entails additional costs.