title: Socio-cultural insights and lymphatic filariasis control--lessons from the Pacific.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sustainable and equitable health programmes require a grounded understanding of the context in which they are being implemented. This socio-cultural understanding is pivotal for effective delivery of elimination programmes. Standardised valid methods are needed for gathering authentic socio-cultural insights. The currently recommended protocol for collecting Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) related socio-cultural data, while moving in the right direction, is inadequate. To collect data which provides an understanding of local health beliefs and practices, and communities' understanding of LF, techniques must be developed that are both valid and time efficient. An approach developed in the Pacific provides a basic snapshot of socio-cultural insights which are crucial to the development of relevant and sustainable health education and elimination programmes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increasing interest in socio-cultural LF research presents a unique opportunity for coupling socio-cultural and bio-medical understandings of LF. To address the backlog in the socio-cultural sphere will require investment of time and effort to integrate valid qualitative approaches into current data collection methodologies.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Control of Lymphatic Filariasis, James Cook University, Douglas, Townsville, 4811, Australia. shona.wynd@bluewin.ch
authors.forename: Shona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wynd
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Durrheim
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carron
authors.forename: Billy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Selve
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chaine
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Leggat
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Melrose