Strategies for Mass drug administration of Praziquantel
Praziquantel is a drug that remains the cornerstone in the global strategy against schistosomiasis. It is often delivered through mass drug administration programs. Children suffer a disproportionate disease burden and are often the target of mass drug administration programs offered within school settings. Despite these efforts, many children who need it are without praziquantel treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. Schistosomiasis is considered one of the several neglected tropical diseases that mainly affects children within low- and middle-income countries.
Overview
Praziquantel is a drug that remains the cornerstone in the global strategy against schistosomiasis. It is often delivered through mass drug administration programs. Children suffer a disproportionate disease burden and are often the target of mass drug administration programs offered within school settings. Despite these efforts, many children who need it are without praziquantel treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. Schistosomiasis is considered one of the several neglected tropical diseases that mainly affects children within low- and middle-income countries. Praziquantel is an effective drug for treating human schistosomiasis and is often delivered through mass drug administration programs to high-risk groups, including school-aged children. While these programs have a tremendous impact in reducing the mortality and morbidity among those at high-risk, access to praziquantel still falls short in many communities. A critical reason is lack of knowledge of the praziquantel program.
Working with the Ministry of Health, Nigeria, the Global Health & Innovation Lab explores potential arts-based solutions that can be implemented to improve knowledge of schistosome infection and the praziquantel tablet to increase the uptake for at-risk groups, specifically children, in Nigeria. The lab is working with the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria to investigate potential educational arts-based tools (i.e., comics, videos) that can be leveraged for praziquantel administration.
Importance
Through the results of this implementation research project, the Global Health & Innovation Lab are developing strategies to overcome challenges and strengthen the effectiveness of praziquantel program implementation. The results can support policy makers and practitioners in the implementation and scale-up of praziquantel programs. In addition, the lab hopes that their arts-based educational tools can be expanded to enhance the implementation of mass drug administration programs targeting other neglected tropical diseases.
Research Questions
The research questions of this project include:
- What are potential arts-based tools that can be leveraged for praziquantel mass drug administration in sub-Saharan Africa?
- What specific arts-based tools are projected to be the most effective in increasing knowledge and awareness of the praziquantel program in sub-Saharan Africa?
Implications
Education is extremely important for community engagement and successful program implementation. These culturally relevant arts-based products will be designed to improve knowledge of the praziquantel mass drug administration program with the intention of increasing community engagement and acceptance.
Team
- Funders: New Frontiers in Research Fund
- Partners: Federal Ministry of Health, National Schistosomiasis/STH Elimination Programme, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Nigeria, Flourish Collective, University of Toronto, Scarborough.
- Research Trainees: Sophie Paquet