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Influence of Neglected Tropical Disease Education on Preventive Practices among Rural Communities in Nigeria

Abstract

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) remain an important public health concern in Nigeria, particularly in rural and underserved communities where environmental, socioeconomic, and healthcare-related conditions may increase exposure to infection. Diseases such as schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, soil-transmitted helminth infections, trachoma, and other NTDs can cause chronic illness, disability, reduced productivity, impaired educational participation, and diminished quality of life. NTD education provides community members with information about disease transmission, risk factors, signs and symptoms, prevention, treatment, environmental health measures, and the importance of participating in available disease-control programmes. Preventive practices refer to behaviours adopted by community members to reduce exposure to NTDs and prevent infection and complications, including appropriate personal hygiene, safe water use, sanitation, environmental cleanliness, use of protective measures, avoidance of known sources of infection, prompt healthcare seeking, and participation in recommended preventive chemotherapy and other disease-control activities. In rural Nigeria, limited health knowledge, inadequate water and sanitation facilities, poor access to healthcare services, environmental exposure, poverty, and misconceptions about NTDs may influence preventive practices. Effective NTD education may improve community knowledge and encourage the adoption of appropriate preventive behaviours. Against this background, this study investigates the influence of neglected tropical disease education on preventive practices among rural communities in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework. The Health Belief Model explains preventive health behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding community members' decisions to adopt NTD preventive practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, social influences, behavioural capabilities, and environmental conditions in shaping health behaviour. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how improved knowledge and attitudes resulting from NTD education may influence preventive practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how NTD education may influence preventive practices among residents of rural communities in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from adult residents of selected rural communities in Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and, where feasible, an observational community health checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, rural communities, households, and eligible residents. Where feasible, selected communities or participant groups will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Residents in the intervention group will receive structured NTD education covering common NTDs relevant to the selected communities, modes of transmission, risk factors, signs and symptoms, complications, personal hygiene, safe water, sanitation, environmental cleanliness, protective measures, appropriate healthcare seeking, preventive chemotherapy where applicable, and participation in community-based disease-control programmes. Preventive practices will be assessed using indicators such as hand hygiene, safe water practices, sanitation practices, environmental cleanliness, appropriate use of protective measures, avoidance of high-risk environmental exposures, participation in preventive chemotherapy programmes where applicable, prompt healthcare seeking, and participation in community disease-control activities. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize residents' sociodemographic characteristics, NTD knowledge, exposure to education, and preventive practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the influence of NTD education on preventive practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that NTD education has a significant positive influence on preventive practices among residents of rural communities in Nigeria. Residents exposed to structured NTD education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of common NTDs, their transmission routes, risk factors, symptoms, complications, and available prevention and control measures. Education may encourage improved personal hygiene, safer water and sanitation practices, better environmental cleanliness, greater participation in preventive chemotherapy programmes where applicable, increased use of protective measures, and earlier utilization of appropriate healthcare services. However, education alone may not guarantee sustained preventive practices because rural communities may continue to face barriers such as inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure, poverty, limited access to healthcare services, environmental exposure, shortages of preventive medicines, geographical isolation, and cultural misconceptions. Consequently, NTD education is expected to be most effective when supported by improved water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, accessible healthcare services, reliable preventive medicine distribution, community mobilization, and sustained disease-control programmes. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on neglected tropical diseases, community health education, rural health, disease prevention, environmental health, health promotion, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the influence of NTD education on preventive practices among rural communities. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), state ministries of health, local government health authorities, neglected tropical disease programmes, primary healthcare facilities, community health workers, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening NTD prevention and control in rural areas. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for improving community-based NTD education, strengthening health promotion activities, expanding access to safe water and sanitation, improving preventive medicine distribution, increasing community participation in disease-control programmes, and promoting sustainable NTD preventive practices among rural populations across Nigeria.

Keywords: Neglected tropical disease education, preventive practices, rural communities, neglected tropical diseases, disease prevention, community health, health education, water and sanitation, preventive chemotherapy, health promotion, public health, Nigeria.