Towards the development of a local scientific culture to deal with the problems of chagas’ disease. Preliminary findings of an experience with young people of the Caribbean Region of Colombia

Resultados preliminares de una experiencia con jóvenes de la región Caribe colombiana.

Abstract

Chagas’ disease is one of the public health most important problems in Latin America. Its relationship with social factors such as poverty, anthropogenic intervention, migration and lack of education on the subject in endemic areas, has become a problem with little hope on a definitive solution in a short or medium term. Thus, to advance in the search for effective responses it is necessary an approaching plan  that involves the social factors correlated with the transmission of the disease. In this context, the conditions which gives the transmission of Chagas’ Disease in the rural area of the municipality of Mompos (Colombian Caribbean), make this area an ideal place to engage a new model of community participation that aims the development of a scientific local culture  to address the problem. However, the implementation of this kind of initiatives must be concerted with the community and from the perception that they have on the topic addressed.
In the preparation of the present work, the first step consisted in the identification of the conceptions that on Chagas’ disease have the secondary school students in the area. In accordance with the results, the school population included possesses a heterogeneous knowledge and was able to identify certain important deficiencies in regard to the information referred to the topic.However, it emphasizes the willingness to participate in the surveillance and control program raised.This is why, it is necessary a previous training of the student community that will emanate from the results of the present study, pointing to the strengthening of the multiplier effect of the young and the replicability of the experience in other sceneries.