Controlling blinding trachoma in the Egyptian Delta: Integrating clinical, epidemiological and anthropological understandings

Robert A. Rubinstein, Sandra D. Lane, Sunny A. Sallam, Ahmed S. Sheta, Zahira M. Gad, Aida R. Sherif, Mohammed Selim, Ashry Gad, Ahmed Shama, Julius Schachter, Chandler R. Dawson

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Trachoma is a leading cause of preventable blindness in the world. The disease is hyperendemic in rural Egypt, where more than 75% of children show signs of having had at least one episode of infectious trachoma during the first year of life. Earlier anthropological and epidemiological observations suggested that trachoma prevalence would decrease if children had their faces washed with soap and water at least once each day. We conducted a community-based intervention to increase face washing in order to control trachoma. In this paper we describe the overall design of this intervention trial and discuss how we integrated anthropological methods and ethnographic data into the design of this successful multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural project to prevent trachoma.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)99-118
Number of pages20
JournalAnthropology and Medicine
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2006

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anthropology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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