Characteristics of persons who complied with and failed to comply with annual ivermectin treatment

Objective To assess individual compliance with annual ivermectin treatment in onchocerciasis-endemic villages. Methods Multi-site study in eight APOC-sponsored projects in Cameroon, Nigeria and Uganda to identify the socio-demographic correlates of compliance with ivermectin treatment. A structured questionnaire was administered on 2305 persons aged 10years and above. Two categories of respondents were purposively selected to obtain both high and low compliers: people who took ivermectin 6-8 times and 0-2 times previously. Simple descriptive statistics were employed in characterizing the respondents into high and low compliers, while some socio-demographic and key perceptual factors were employed in regression models constructed to explain levels of compliance among the respondents. Results Some demographic and perceptual factors associated with compliance were identified. Compliance was more common among men (54.4%) (P<0.001). Adults (54.6%) had greater rates of high compliance (P<0.001. The mean age of high compliers (41.5years) was significantly older (35.8years) (t=8.46, P<0.001). Perception of onchocerciasis and effectiveness of ivermectin influenced compliance. 81.4% of respondents saw benefits in annual ivermectin treatment, high compliance among those who saw benefits was 59.3% compared to 13.3% of those who did not (P<0.001). Conclusion Efforts to increase compliance with ivermectin treatment should focus on providing health education to youth and women. Health education should also highlight the benefits of taking ivermectin.