@article{fdi:010078217,
  title = {{C}ommunity-based door to door census of suspected people living with epilepsy : empowering community drug distributors to improve the provision of care to rural communities in {C}ameroon},
  author = {{K}amgno, {J}. and {T}chatchueng-{M}bougua, {J}. {B}. and {N}ana-{D}jeunga, {H}. {C}. and {E}sso, {L}. and {Z}oure, {H}. {G}. and {M}ackenzie, {C}. {D}. and {B}oussinesq, {M}ichel},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{B}ackground {E}pilepsy is a severe neurological disorder with huge psychological, social, and economic consequences, including premature deaths and loss of productivity. {S}ub-{S}aharan {A}frica carries the highest burden of epilepsy. {T}he management of epilepsy in {C}ameroon remains unsatisfactory due to poor identification of cases and a limited knowledge of the distribution of the disease. {T}he objective of this study was to determine whether community drug distributors ({CDD}s) - volunteers selected by their communities to distribute ivermectin against onchocerciasis and who have been proven efficient to deliver other health interventions such as insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria, vitamin {A} tablets, and albendazole to treat soil transmitted helminthiasis - can be used to reliably identify people living with epilepsy to promote better management of cases. {M}ethods {T}his study was carried out in three health {D}istricts in {C}ameroon. {A}n exhaustive house to house census was carried out by trained {CDD}s under the supervision of local nurses. {I}n each household, all suspected cases of epilepsy were identified. {I}n each health district, five communities were randomly selected for a second census by trained health personnel (research team). {T}he results of the two censuses were compared for verification purposes.{R}esults{A} total of 53,005 people was registered in the 190 communities surveyed with 794 (1.4%) individuals identified as suspected cases of epilepsy ({SCE}) by the {CDD}s. {I}n the 15 communities where the {SCE} census was verified, the average ratio between the number of suspected cases of epilepsy reported in a community by the research team and that reported by the {CDD}s was 1.1; this ratio was <0.8 and>1.2 in 6 communities.{C}onclusions{T}he results of this study suggest that {CDD}s, who are present in about 200,000 communities in 31 {S}ub {S}aharan {A}frican countries where onchocerciasis is endemic, can be successfully used to assess epilepsy prevalence, and therefore map epilepsy in many {A}frican countries.},
  keywords = {{E}pilepsy ; {D}istribution ; {C}ommunity drug distributors ; {CAMEROUN}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{BMC} {P}ublic {H}ealth},
  volume = {20},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {art. 871 [11 p.]},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1186/s12889-020-08997-8},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078217},
}