Assessing the effectiveness of a community intervention for monkeypox prevention in the Congo basin.
BACKGROUND
In areas where health resources are limited, community participation in the recognition and reporting of disease hazards is critical for the identification of outbreaks. This is particularly true for zoonotic diseases such as monkeypox that principally affect people living in remote areas with few health services. Here we report the findings of an evaluation measuring the effectiveness of a film-based community outreach program designed to improve the understanding of monkeypox symptoms, transmission and prevention, by residents of the Republic of the Congo (ROC) who are at risk for disease acquisition.


RESULTS
During 90 days, monkeypox outreach was conducted for ∼23,860 people in northern ROC. Two hundred seventy-one attendees (selected via a structured sample) were interviewed before and after participating in a small-group outreach session. The proportion of interviewees demonstrating monkeypox-specific knowledge before and after was compared. Significant gains were measured in areas of disease recognition, transmission, and mitigation of risk. The ability to recognize at least one disease symptom and a willingness to take a family member with monkeypox to the hospital increased from 49 and 45% to 95 and 87%, respectively (p<0.001, both). Willingness to deter behaviors associated with zoonotic risk, such as eating the carcass of a primate found dead in the forest, remained fundamentally unchanged however, suggesting additional messaging may be needed.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that our current program of film-based educational activities is effective in improving disease-specific knowledge and may encourage individuals to seek out the advice of health workers when monkeypox is suspected.
Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Amira A
AA
Roess
Benjamin P
BP
Monroe
Eric A
EA
Kinzoni
Seamus
S
Gallagher
Saturnin R
SR
Ibata
Nkenda
N
Badinga
Trolienne M
TM
Molouania
Fredy S
FS
Mabola
Jean V
JV
Mombouli
Darin S
DS
Carroll
Adam
A
MacNeil
Noelle A
NA
Benzekri
Cynthia
C
Moses
Inger K
IK
Damon
Mary G
MG
Reynolds
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003223:Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045908:Mpox, Monkeypox / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D009040:Motion Pictures; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education; D055815:Young Adult; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission