Assessing the impact of tungiasis on children's quality of life in Kenya.

ABSTRACT: Tungiasis is a neglected tropical skin disease caused by the sand flea, Tunga penetrans which penetrates the skin causing considerable pain and itching. In this cross-sectional study we aimed to assess its impact on the quality of life of school children in Kenya. School pupils (198) aged 8-14 years with tungiasis were randomly selected and interviewed using a tungiasis-specific quality of life instrument (TLQI). The caregivers of each infected pupil and 199 randomly selected caregivers of uninfected pupils were interviewed using the proxy KIDscreen52 to assess their child's general health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Generalized linear models were used to assess associations between quality-of-life variables, children's tungiasis status and other covariables. Among infected children,

SUBMITTER: Elson L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12431661 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature