Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Community Health https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00684-z ORIGINAL PAPER A Community‑Based Intervention for the Detection of Chagas Disease in Barcelona, Spain Jordi Gómez i Prat 1  · Paula Peremiquel‑Trillas 1,2  · Isabel Claveria Guiu 1  · Estefa Choque 1  · Inés Oliveira Souto 1  · Núria Serre Delcor 1  · Elena Sulleiro 3  · Mateu Espasa 3  · Conxita Pastoret 4  · Juan José de los Santos 5  · Hakima Ouaarab 1  · Pedro Albajar Viñas 6  · Carlos Ascaso Terren 7 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Chagas disease (CHD) has become a challenge in Spain due to the high prevalence of immigrants coming from endemic areas. One of the main difculties for its control and elimination is its underdiagnosis. The identifcation and integral treatment of CHD are key to increasing rates of diagnosis, overcoming psycho-social barriers and avoiding CHD progression. Community interventions with in situ screening have proven to be a useful tool in detecting CHD among those with difculties accessing health services. To determine the underdiagnosis rate of the population most susceptible to CHD among those attending two diferent Bolivian cultural events celebrated in Barcelona; to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the people screened; and to analyse the results of the screening. The community interventions were carried out at two Bolivian cultural events held in Barcelona in 2017. Participants were recruited through community health agents. A questionnaire was given to determine the participants’ prior knowledge of CHD. In situ screening was ofered to those who had not previously been screened. Those who did not wish to be screened were asked for the reason behind their decision. Results were gathered in a database and statistical analyses were performed using STATA v14. 635 interviews were carried out. 95% of the subjects reported prior knowledge of CHD. 271 subjects were screened: 71.2% women and 28.8% men, of whom 87.8% were of Bolivian origin. The prevalence of CHD was 8.9%. Community health interventions with in situ screening are essential to facilitating access to diagnosis. Keywords Chagas · Community health · In situ screening · Community interventions Background Chagas disease (CHD) is a growing concern in non-endemic countries [1], specifcally in Spain, the country with the highest prevalence of this disease in Europe [2–4]. It is estimated that between 6 and 7 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi worldwide, the majority being from Latin America [5]. Spain is the European country with the largest population of immigrants coming from Latin America, including Bolivia, the country with the highest prevalence of infection by T. cruzi in the Americas. For this reason, Spain has a greater estimated number of infected people than any other European country and even some countries in the Americas [6–8]. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifes CHD as one of the 21 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) and one of the main difculties for its control and elimination is its severe underdiagnosis. It is currently estimated that, world- wide, less than 10% of infected patients have been diagnosed with CHD [2–5, 9]. Overcoming barriers of access to diag- nosis is crucial to reversing this problem [10]. In the case of CHD, psycho-social and cultural determi- nants clearly act as a barrier against access to the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, not just for afected patients but also for their families and society in general [11, 12]. Debunking the myth that CHD is terminal, and there- fore working toward relative societal normalcy as well as Jordi Gómez i Prat and Paula Peremiquel-Trillas are co-authors. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00684-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Jordi Gómez i Prat j.gomez@vhebron.net Extended author information available on the last page of the article