[Healthcare in Low-resource Settings 2017; 5:6108] [page 1] Factors associated with Schistosomiasis control measures in Mwaluphamba Location, Kwale County, Kenya Ahmad Juma, 1 Arthur K.S. Ng’etich, 1 Violet Naanyu, 2 Ann Mwangi, 2 Ruth C. Kirinyet 1 1 Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Moi University, Eldoret; 2 Department of Behavioral Sciences-School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya Abstract The study set out to investigate the fac- tors associated with Schistosomiasis control measures in Mwaluphamba location of Kwale County. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Mwaluphamba loca- tion was purposely sampled and simple ran- dom sampling was used to select 338 respondents in villages in each location. Structured questionnaires were used to col- lect data. A majority of the respondents were males (60%), Muslim affiliated (85%), aged 41 years and over (39%) and most (56%) of them had achieved at least a primary level of education. Results showed that 40% of the respondents were knowl- edgeable of health education as a service offered by health care providers to control Schistosomiasis. Male respondents and those of Islamic affiliation were five times (OR: 4.686) and three times (OR: 3.13) more likely to seek health education in comparison to their female counterparts respectively. Respondents’ who had achieved at least a primary level of educa- tion and those that earned an income of above one thousand shillings significantly utilized mass treatment. Respondents with income levels below a thousand shillings were less likely to seek both health educa- tion and mass treatment compared to those with a higher income. In conclusion, there was a statistically significant association between respondents’ socio-demographic factors and control measures for the infec- tion. There is need for equal implementa- tion of all control measures to overcome the socio-demographic barriers and to ensure effective control of Schistosomiasis infec- tion. Introduction Schistosomiasis is considered one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) and it is second only to malaria as the most devas- tating parasitic disease. In Kenya, schisto- somiasis is endemic with an estimated prevalence of between 5% to 65 % affecting over six million people. 1 Both Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium exist and are unequally distributed in sever- al parts of the country. Schistosoma haemo- tobium is high in most parts of the coastal belt as well as the lake basin. It is prevalent in scattered foci and sometimes mixed with Schistosoma mansoni in Eastern, Central and Nyanza provinces with mixed infec- tions existing on the shores of Lake Victoria. The vectors for Schistosoma man- soni and Schistosoma haemotobium in Kenya belong to species of snails of the genus Biomphalaria and Bolinus respec- tively. 2 Schistosomiasis may not be a major cause of mortality but it ranks highly as a cause of morbidity as assessed in hospital attendances as well as research that has been carried out in different parts of Kenya. 2 The prevalence of infection is increasing as a result of the water develop- ment programmes such as agriculture and recreational activities which encourage the establishment of snail vectors exposing communities to infected water. 3 While the socio-economic impact including poor school attendance and per- formance is known, Schistosomiasis has not been given the attention it deserves and continues to be a health problem for many developing countries. 2 Treatment of Schistosomiasis infection has been increas- ing from 12.4 million in 2006 to 33.5 mil- lion in 2010 depicting an upward trend in its prevalence since the year 2002 when uni- versal declaration to control the disease was made. 4 The universal control measure of using chemotherapy to treat school-aged children and populations at risk of the infec- tion in endemic areas of Kenya has not bore much fruits compared to other parts of the world. This is attributed to lack of consis- tent access to vulnerable populations, late detection of infections and inconsistent sup- ply of the praziquantel drugs for consistent treatment. 2 The coastal area of Kenya is a Schistosoma haemotobium endemic area causing Urinary Schistosomiasis which is a major public health problem in Kwale County of the coastal region. 4 Kwale County had a prevalence rate of 70% amongst school-going children despite the tireless campaign efforts by Kenyan gov- ernment and other Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) towards prevention and control of Schistosomiasis. 5 Current research shows that Urinary Schistosomiasis has a prevalence rate of 45% in Tsimba location and above 80% among school-aged children and an average prevalence of 18.2% among adults in Mwaluphamba location of Kwale County. 3,6 Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the Kenyan government through concerted efforts have been imple- menting a mass treatment programme to control Schistosomiasis over a long period of time but the prevalence of the infection still remains high in Kwale County. The programme is focused on treatment of school-going children who are diagnosed with Schistosomiasis. 3 It is probable that the programme has not been fully effective in achieving a significant reduction in the prevalence of the infection given lack of attention to the specific factors associated Healthcare in Low-resource Settings 2017; volume 5:6108 Correspondence: Arthur Kipkemoi Saitabau Ng’etich, Moi University, P.O. Box 7470- 30100, Eldoret, Kenya. Tel.: +254710 890 400. Email: arthursaitabau@yahoo.com Key words: Schistosomiasis, Control Measures, Kwale County. Contributions: AJ, research idea conception, study designing, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; AKSN, drafting and revising the manuscript and final review and approval of final version of manuscript for publication; VN, study design, interpretation of manuscript, revising manuscript and final approval of version to be published; AM, data analysis review, revising of manuscript and approval of the final version for publication; RCK, references check, revising of manu- script and approval of the final version for publication Conflict of interest: the authors declare no potential conflict of interest. Acknowledgements: We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the entire Moi University School of Public Health academic fraternity for their guidance and more impor- tantly their extensive knowledge in this area of research which informed the study. A special thank you to the people of Mwaluphamba location for their participation in the study. Received for publication: 23 June 2016. Revision received: 2 December 2016 Accepted for publication: 21 December 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (by-nc 4.0). ©Copyright A. Juma et al., 2017 Licensee PAGEPress, Italy Healthcare in Low-resource Settings 2017; 5:6108 doi:10.4081/hls.2017.6108 Non commercial use only