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Moradi-Asl E, Abbasi-Ghahramanloo A, Adham D, Saghafipour A, Arzamani K, Soltani A, Nejati J, Firozian S, Jalilian A, Kazempoor S, Darvishi M, Ozbaki GM. Association between living in the endemic area and level of knowledge of visceral leishmaniasis. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:291. [PMID: 38267911 PMCID: PMC10809501 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-17775-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Iran is a country with a high prevalence of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and seven endemic provinces. In this study, we tried to identify unobserved classes of knowledge among Iranians toward VL and assess the predictors of each latent class. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected participants from endemic and non-endemic areas of VL in Iran in 2020 and 2021. The collected data included demographic characteristics and questions about knowledge, attitude, and practice toward VL. We performed latent class analysis using a procedure for latent class analysis (PROC LCA) in SAS to identify the class membership of knowledge of participants toward VL. RESULTS Five latent classes were identified: very low (38.9%), low (15.5%), moderate (6.2%), high (14.1%), and very high (25.2%) knowledge about VL. Living in endemic areas significantly increased the odds of belonging to the low (adjusted OR (AOR = 7.23; 95% confidence interval (CI):4.52-11.58), high (AOR = 2.71; 95%CI: 1.73-4.23), and very high (AOR = 8.47; 95%CI: 5.78-12.41) classes compared to the very low class. Also, having academic education increased the odds of membership in the very high class (AOR = 2.36; 95%CI: 1.61-3.47) compared to the very low class. CONCLUSION This study revealed that more than 50% of the participants fell into the latent classes of very low and low knowledge toward VL. Some educational workshops in the endemic areas could be effective in enhancing knowledge about VL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eslam Moradi-Asl
- Arthropod-Borne Diseases Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
- Department of Public Health, School of Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
| | - Abbas Abbasi-Ghahramanloo
- Arthropod-Borne Diseases Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
- Department of Public Health, School of Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
| | - Davoud Adham
- Department of Public Health, School of Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
| | - Abedin Saghafipour
- Department of Public Health, School of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
| | - Kourosh Arzamani
- Vector-borne Diseases Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, North Khorasan, Iran
| | - Aboozar Soltani
- Research Center for Health Sciences, Institute of Health, Department of Medical Entomology, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Fars, Iran
| | - Jalil Nejati
- Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
| | - Samira Firozian
- Urmia Health Center, Disease Control Unit, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Ali Jalilian
- Department of Public Health, School of Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
| | - Samad Kazempoor
- Kaleybar Health Center, Disease Control Unit, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Darvishi
- Health Center of Tangestan, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
| | - Gorban Mohamad Ozbaki
- Gonbad Health Center, Disease Control Unit, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan, Iran
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