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Effect of Neglected Tropical Disease Mapping on Disease Case Detection in Endemic Nigerian Communities

Abstract

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) remain an important public health challenge in Nigeria, particularly in communities where environmental, socioeconomic, and healthcare access conditions support continued transmission. Diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, trachoma, soil-transmitted helminth infections, and other NTDs can cause chronic illness, disability, reduced productivity, and social and economic consequences for affected populations. Effective disease case detection is essential for identifying infected individuals, initiating timely treatment, interrupting disease transmission, and planning appropriate control interventions. Neglected tropical disease mapping involves the systematic collection, analysis, and geographical presentation of information on disease distribution, transmission patterns, affected populations, and areas of increased disease risk. Mapping can help public health authorities identify endemic communities, prioritize high-risk areas, allocate diagnostic resources, target active case-finding activities, and strengthen disease surveillance. However, inadequate geographical information, limited surveillance coverage, shortage of trained personnel, insufficient diagnostic resources, and poor access to remote communities may limit the effectiveness of NTD mapping in improving disease detection. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of neglected tropical disease mapping on disease case detection in endemic Nigerian communities. The study will be anchored on the Health Systems Framework, Disease Surveillance Theory, and Spatial Epidemiology Theory. The Health Systems Framework emphasizes service delivery, health information systems, health workforce, medical products and technologies, financing, and governance as essential components of effective disease control programmes. Disease Surveillance Theory emphasizes the systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health information for detecting diseases and guiding public health action. Spatial Epidemiology Theory focuses on the geographical distribution of diseases and the identification of spatial patterns, clusters, and areas of increased disease risk to support targeted disease control interventions. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how NTD mapping may influence disease case detection in endemic communities in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative cross-sectional, retrospective, or quasi-experimental research design, depending on the availability of mapping and disease surveillance data. The study population will comprise residents of selected endemic communities, healthcare workers involved in NTD surveillance and case detection, and relevant healthcare facilities in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, local government areas, endemic communities, healthcare facilities, and eligible respondents or records. NTD mapping will be assessed using indicators such as availability of disease maps, geographical coverage, identification of endemic areas, mapping frequency, completeness of geographical information, identification of high-risk communities, use of mapping data for surveillance planning, and accessibility of mapped information to health authorities. Disease case detection will be assessed using indicators such as number of cases identified, confirmed NTD cases, case detection rate, active case-finding coverage, new cases detected through surveillance activities, and timely identification of suspected cases. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, disease surveillance records, healthcare facility registers, NTD mapping databases, laboratory records, programme reports, and relevant government documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize the characteristics of mapped communities, NTD mapping coverage, and disease case detection patterns. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the effect of NTD mapping on disease case detection. Where appropriate, disease detection patterns before and after mapping activities may be compared to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that effective neglected tropical disease mapping has a significant positive effect on disease case detection in endemic Nigerian communities. Communities that are accurately mapped and identified as high-risk areas are expected to receive more targeted surveillance and active case-finding activities, resulting in increased identification of suspected and confirmed NTD cases. Mapping may enable health authorities to prioritize communities for screening, deploy healthcare workers and diagnostic resources more efficiently, and identify geographical areas requiring intensified disease control interventions. Improved geographical information may also strengthen disease surveillance by enabling health authorities to monitor changes in disease distribution and identify previously underserved endemic communities. Conversely, incomplete mapping, outdated geographical information, limited surveillance resources, inadequate diagnostic capacity, and poor access to remote communities may reduce the effectiveness of mapping activities and contribute to under-detection of NTD cases. The study therefore expects effective NTD mapping to contribute significantly to improved disease case detection and targeted disease control in endemic Nigerian communities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on neglected tropical diseases, disease mapping, disease surveillance, case detection, spatial epidemiology, infectious disease control, community health, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health, NTD control programmes, local government health authorities, healthcare facilities, development partners, epidemiologists, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening NTD surveillance and case detection. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for improving geographical mapping of endemic communities, updating NTD maps regularly, strengthening disease surveillance systems, improving active case-finding activities, expanding diagnostic capacity, training healthcare workers in the use of geographical information, improving access to remote communities, and using mapping data to guide the allocation of disease control resources across Nigeria.

Keywords: Neglected tropical diseases, disease mapping, disease case detection, endemic communities, Nigeria, disease surveillance, spatial epidemiology, active case finding, infectious disease control, community health, NTD surveillance, public health.