Background

The antibiotic treatment of people with trachoma helps to prevent transmission the disease in a community. Currently, Zithromax is the drug recommended for mass drug administration (MDA). MDA should be carried out annually for three to five years in trachoma endemic areas. Coverage survey is essential to track progress towards program goals and to identify communities with poor coverage in order to permit timely and appropriate actions. We assessed mass Zithromax administration coverage, social mobilization and campaign challenges in south and southeast zones of Tigray, Ethiopia.

Method

We conducted a survey in community in Southern and South East zones of Tigray region from August 15 to August 31, 2016. The survey included nine Woredas. It was supported by qualitative methods. A total of 3741 individuals were enrolled from 933 households using multistage sampling. We used structured questionnaire. In-depth interview and focus group discussion were also applied. Descriptive statistics was performed using SPSS version 20.We thematically analyzed the qualitative data using Atlas 7.

Result

The overall coverage of Zithromax MDA was 93.3%. It ranges from 90.0% in Seharti Samre to 97.9% in Endamokoni. The coverage was 93.4% for males and 93.1% for females. A higher proportion (98.3%) of children aged 5 to 15 years and 409 (87.8%) under five children took Zithromax. The coverage was 94% in rural and 91.2% in urban. Women development army (43.3%) and health extension workers (32.5%) were the main source of information. Frequent occurrence of drug side effects, rumors, lack of community and leaders’ engagement in the campaign, fasting, shortage of human power and short term unavailability of supplies were barriers during the campaign.

Conclusion

The Zithromax MDA coverage in the study zones was higher than the minimum WHO set criteria of 80%. There was a wide difference in coverage among Woredas and Kebeles. The MDA coverage was lower in urban than rural. Misconceptions and poor mobilization were common challenges. Thus, proper planning, community mobilization and uniform training will need to be done ahead of the campaign in the future.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚北部提格里南部和东南部地区的Zithromax大规模管理运动的覆盖面，社会动员和挑战；横断面研究

背景

沙眼患者的抗生素治疗有助于预防该疾病在社区中的传播。目前，Zithromax是推荐用于大规模药物管理（MDA）的药物。每年应在沙眼流行地区进行MDA达三至五年。覆盖率调查对于跟踪实现计划目标的进度以及识别覆盖率低的社区至关重要，以便可以及时采取适当的行动。我们评估了埃塞俄比亚提格雷南部和东南部的大规模Zithromax行政管理范围，社会动员和竞选挑战。

方法

我们于2016年8月15日至8月31日在Tigray地区的南部和东南部地区进行了一项社区调查。该调查包括9名Woredas。它得到了定性方法的支持。使用多阶段抽样，从933户家庭中总共登记了3741个人。我们使用结构化问卷。还进行了深入访谈和焦点小组讨论。使用SPSS 20版进行描述性统计。我们使用Atlas 7对定性数据进行了专题分析。

结果

Zithromax MDA的总覆盖率为93.3％。范围从Seharti Samre的90.0％到Endamokoni的97.9％。男性为93.4％，女性为93.1％。5至15岁的儿童中有99.7％的儿童服用5种儿童，其中有409％（87.8％）的儿童服用了Zithromax。农村地区的覆盖率为94％，城市地区的覆盖率为91.2％。妇女发展军（43.3％）和卫生推广人员（32.5％）是主要的信息来源。竞选过程中经常遇到毒品副作用，谣言，缺乏社区和领导人参与竞选活动，禁食，人力短缺和短期供应不足等问题。

结论

研究区的Zithromax MDA覆盖率高于WHO设定的最低标准80％。Woredas和Kebeles之间的覆盖范围存在很大差异。城市的MDA覆盖率低于农村。误解和动员不力是常见的挑战。因此，将来需要在运动之前进行适当的计划，社区动员和统一的培训。