Community-based study of neurological disorders in Ethiopia: development of a screening instrument.
This paper describes the development of a screening instrument for a community-based neuroepidemiological survey in a rural community in Ethiopia. A pilot study in 1984 to pre-test the questionnaires developed revealed that epilepsy, poliomyelitis, mental retardation and speech disturbances were the most common neurological disorders among the 3,000 rural inhabitants surveyed. The study suggested that a base-population of about 50,000 was required for a future major epidemiological survey to identify rare neurological disorders.
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
R T
RT
Haimanot
M
M
Abebe
A G
AG
Mariam
L
L
Forsgren
G
G
Holmgren
J
J
Heijbel
J
J
Ekstedt
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*