title: Azithromycin treatment coverage in Tanzanian children using community volunteers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine which of two village-based strategies was more effective at recruiting residents for a trachoma mass treatment campaign.
  
  
  METHODS
  The two strategies were to use either village government personnel to recruit residents for treatment, or to solicit interested community volunteers to recruit residents. Three were villages assigned to each strategy, and the outcome measured was treatment coverage of individuals, group and the villages.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-selected community volunteers were significantly more effective than village government personnel in recruiting villagers for antibiotic treatment (p <.0001). The differences were strongest for the group at highest risk for active trachoma, pre-school children; 73% of children in community volunteer villages were treated, compared to 63% in village government villages (p <.05). Children in villages using community volunteers and from larger families were more likely to be treated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support using motivated community volunteers, rather than traditional government workers, for mass treatment campaigns where high coverage is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Sheilak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Frick
authors.forename: Harran A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Mkocha
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017963:Azithromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D018579:Patient Selection; D011897:Random Allocation; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology; D014141:Trachoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014838:Volunteers
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D017963:Azithromycin