Feasibility of Training Community Health Workers to Use Smartphone-Attached Microscopy for Point-of-Care Visualization of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in the  Peruvian Amazon.

Ramal, Cesar; Meza Sanchez, Graciela; Taub, Erin; Siles, Crystyan; Tangoa, Nolberto; Vilcaromero Llaja, Stalin Fran; Ameen, Eve; Marcos, Luis A.; Nin Zhu, Simon; Morales Guzman, Cesar

dc.contributor.author	Ameen, Eve
dc.contributor.author	Nin Zhu, Simon
dc.contributor.author	Morales Guzman, Cesar
dc.contributor.author	Taub, Erin
dc.contributor.author	Siles, Crystyan
dc.contributor.author	Meza Sanchez, Graciela
dc.contributor.author	Vilcaromero Llaja, Stalin Fran
dc.contributor.author	Ramal, Cesar
dc.contributor.author	Tangoa, Nolberto
dc.contributor.author	Marcos, Luis A.
dc.coverage.spatial	Loreto, Perú
dc.date.accessioned	2023-05-19T14:08:33Z
dc.date.available	2023-05-19T14:08:33Z
dc.date.issued	2023
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12866/13517
dc.description.abstract	The prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) is high in communities within the Peruvian Amazon despite repeated mass-drug administration, demanding alternative strategies of control. Smartphone-attached microscopy (SAM) permits visualization of STH from a small portable microscope through a smartphone screen, potentially providing an inexpensive and rapid method of STH visualization in communities where diagnostic laboratories with microscopes are inaccessible. In this study, a total of 45 community health workers who work within the health systems of Loreto, Peru, attended a 1-day training session with lectures and practicums on STH and SAM. Participants received a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire. Post-intervention, participants were significantly more confident using SAM and identifying parasite images, symptoms, transmission, and treatment (P ≤ 0.0045). Post-intervention, participants correctly labeled a median of five of seven SAM apparatus components and five of eight steps of Kato-Katz technique, were less likely to choose taking medicine to prevent parasite infection (P = 0.0075), and were more likely to select Kato-Katz technique as a type of diagnostic test (P < 0.0001). Most participants felt ready to use SAM in their communities and stated that it could help rural communities far from health centers or laboratories (24%); provide faster identification, results, diagnosis (19%); permit at-home or on-the-spot visualization (14%); and save money (14%). Results show that community health workers show a high level of willingness and competency to learn about both STH and SAM and may be a yet-unexplored practical method of augmenting STH visualization, bringing healthcare to communities in Loreto with poor access to diagnostic laboratories and clinics.	en_US
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher	American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
dc.relation.ispartofseries	American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subject	Training Community Health Workers	en_US
dc.subject	Smartphone-Attached Microscopy	en_US
dc.subject	Point-of-Care	en_US
dc.subject	Soil-Transmitted	en_US
dc.subject	Helminths	en_US
dc.subject	Peru	en_US
dc.subject	Amazon	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Agentes Comunitarios de Salud
dc.subject.mesh	Microscopía
dc.subject.mesh	Sistemas de Atención de Punto
dc.subject.mesh	Suelo
dc.subject.mesh	Helmintos
dc.subject.mesh	Perú
dc.title	Feasibility of Training Community Health Workers to Use Smartphone-Attached Microscopy for Point-of-Care Visualization of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in the Peruvian Amazon.	en_US
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.22-0210
dc.subject.ocde	https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#3.03.06
dc.relation.issn	1476-1645