TY - JOUR A2 - Galvo, Lcia AU - Margonari, Carina AU - Menezes, Júlia Alves AU - Mayr de Lima Carvalho, Gustavo AU - Miranda, Júlia Bahia AU - Furtado de Sousa, Fabrizio AU - Rêgo, Felipe Dutra AU - Campos, Aldenise Martins AU - Monteiro, Carolina Cunha AU - Madureira, Ana Paula AU - Andrade Filho, José Dilermando PY - 2020 DA - 2020/11/20 TI - Level of Knowledge and Risk Factors for Visceral Leishmaniasis in a Mining Area of Minas Gerais State, Brazil SP - 6301310 VL - 2020 AB - Aiming to optimize and adjust leishmaniasis prevention and control measures for the resident population of Pains, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a structured questionnaire containing conceptual questions and questions about household characteristics was used to evaluate knowledge level and exposure risk. A total of 396 individuals were interviewed revealing unscientific and fragmented knowledge about the subject for most of the studied population. The female population was found to have 1.68 times more chance of knowing about the disease than the male population, while highly educated individuals were found to have 2.92 times more chances of knowing about leishmaniasis compared to basic educated individuals. All of the respondents reported the presence of, at least, one risk factor, while ages ≥40 years were considered a protective factor compared to younger ages, indicating that older individuals are more likely to recognize risks and protect themselves against leishmaniasis. These results will contribute to the production of didactic materials for the population with respect to their previous knowledge and will provide a basis for control and prophylactic measures. SN - 1687-708X UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6301310 DO - 10.1155/2020/6301310 JF - Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases PB - Hindawi KW - ER -