Community Perspectives on Zika Virus Disease Prevention in Guatemala: A Qualitative Study.

Community Perspectives on Zika Virus Disease Prevention in Guatemala: A Qualitative Study. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Feb 24;: Authors: Leontsini E, Maloney S, Ramirez M, Mazariegos LM, Juarez Chavez E, Kumar D, Parikh P, Hunter GC Abstract Zika virus, which is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and through sexual transmission, disproportionally affects the human fetus. Guatemala experienced a surge of Zika cases beginning in 2016. We conducted a qualitative study of community perceptions of the seriousness of Zika, as well as the effectiveness, feasibility, and collective efficacy of Zika prevention actions. Free listing elicited the preventive actions salient for 68 participants comprising pregnant women, men with a pregnant partner, and women likely to become pregnant; 12 focus group discussions in a highland and a lowland town explored other concepts through rank orderings of prevention practices depicted on cards. Participants' initial concern about Zika, based on recent experience with chikungunya and high media coverage, diminished because of its mild symptoms and reduced media coverage. Participants identified more than 32 salient preventive actions, many of which are considered effective by programs. Participants ranked water storage container cleaning and regular unspecified cleaning of the house and its surroundings as highly effective, feasible, and of high collective efficacy; however, the actions lacked the specificit...
Source: Am J Trop Med Hyg - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research