[Recurrence of dengue epidemics in Burkina Faso: Community preference for an intervention to prevent the disease]. / Épidémies récurrentes de la dengue au Burkina Faso : préférences communautaires pour une intervention de prévention de la maladie.

BACKGROUND: Community-based interventions have proven effective in several Latin American countries in controlling dengue vector Aedes aegypti and reducing the burden of the disease. However, we did not find any study reporting the assessment or implementation of such interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article presents local communities' preferences for activities as part of the implementation of a community-based intervention for dengue prevention in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) where dengue epidemics are recurrent during the rainy season. METHODS: A mixed-method study combining qualitative and quantitative data collection was conducted. Information from 983 households and their preferences for community-based activities for dengue prevention were collected in five neighborhoods of the city using a quantitative questionnaire. Then, 15 qualitative focus groups were organized in one of the neighborhoods that was randomly selected to receive a community-based intervention for dengue prevention. These groups were made up of 216 people representing the different socio-cultural categories: community leaders, men, women, young girls and boys. RESULTS: More than 95% of household respondents to the quantitative questionnaire found community-based interventions acceptable and/or useful: to raise awareness of mosquito-borne disease transmission, to identify and remove the mosquito breeding sites and areas favorable to the development of the adult vectors. Most participants in the focus groups, preferred outreach activities such as video/debate sessions, school and home education sessions, focus groups. They also preferred the implementation of community working groups, responsible for identifying and eliminating mosquito breeding sites in the neighborhood. However, many participants had reservations about sending preventive text messages to residents. They found it feasible but not useful since most people cannot read. CONCLUSION: This study shows that it is important to get the local communities involved in the formulation of health prevention activities in sub-Saharan Africa where some interventions are often implemented using strategies from other continents.