02331nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653003900054653005700093100002400150700002100174700001600195700001400211700001300225700002200238700002000260700002400280700001300304700001300317245015400330856006800484300000900552490000700561520147100568022001402039       2023                            d  bMDPI AG10aHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis10aPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health1 aTrujillo-Trujillo J1 aMeza-Cárdenas M1 aSánchez SB1 aZamora SM1 aPorras A1 aLópez de Mesa CB1 aBernal Parra LM1 aBernal Lizarazú MC1 aMiller H1 aSilva JC00aKnowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Hygiene and the Prevention of Trachoma in the Indigenous Population of the Colombian Amazon Vaupés Department  uhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4632/pdf?version=1678092108  a1-120 v203 a<p>The Colombian program to end trachoma implements the component F of the SAFE strategy in the Vaupés department of the Amazon rainforest. Cultural, linguistic, and geographical barriers and the coexistence of an ancestral medical system demand the technical and sociocultural adaptation of this component. A cross-sectional survey combined with focus-group discussions to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the indigenous population related to trachoma was conducted in 2015. Of the 357 heads of households that participated, 45.1% associated trachoma with a lack of hygiene, and 94.7% associated the concept of hygiene with taking one or more body baths per day, using commercial or handcrafted soap. In total, 93% reported cleaning their children’s faces and eyes more often when they have conjunctivitis, but 66.1% also did this with clothes or towels in use, and 52.7% of people shared towels; in total, 32.8% indicated that they would use ancestral medicine to prevent and treat trachoma. The SAFE strategy in Vaupés requires an intercultural approach to facilitate stakeholder support and participation to promote general and facial hygiene, washing clothes with soap, and not sharing towels and clothes to dry and clean children’s faces for effective and sustainable elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. This qualitative assessment facilitated an intercultural approach locally and in other Amazonian locations.</p>
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