Study of Barriers to De-worming in Uganda Highlights Fears of
Medication
Communication research on de-worming in Uganda
CABER was commissioned by the Nutrition and Early Childhood Development
project in Uganda through a loan from the World Bank to conduct a study of
local knowledge and treatment of worms. The study served as the basis for
planning a strategy and programs for encouraging regular de-worming of
young children. Eighteen focus groups were conducted in communities
throughout the country. Topics included salience of worms as a childhood
health problem; recognition of symptoms; community knowledge of causes,
prevention, and treatment of worms; and barriers to regular de-worming.
The report, Local Knowledge and Treatment of Worms in Uganda (Baume,
1999), summarizes the results and provides recommendations. Briefly, the
study found that worms are already considered an important childhood
health problem and general knowledge of symptoms, causes, and means of
prevention are adequate overall. Therefore, the project should easily be
able to build on this base of knowledge to reinforce key information about
worms and motivate people to take advantage of de-worming opportunities.
Treatment knowledge is weaker, and messages about dosage and regularity
will need to be given.
The most essential problem to address, however, is the prevalent fear
that the drugs are too strong for children, and may even kill them. There
are specific barriers associated with providing drugs via
government-organized health days, as many stories were recited about
children dying after attending National Immunization Days. Further, in
accordance with standard behavior change strategies, there needs to be
adequate promotion of de-worming days and attention to reducing time and
money costs for participants.
Client: World Bank
