A randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate the effects of a screening programme for intestinal parasite infection in newly-arrived Southeast Asian refugees. Statistically significant prevalence differences over the six-month study period were found between the screened and control groups for each refugee group from Kampuchea, Laos and Vietnam. Further analyses concentrated on the Kampuchean group because of its large number and satisfactory participation rate. / The greatest prevalence differences were found in hookworm and Ascaris infections. Continued high levels of Giardia and Strongyloides infection indicated the potential for transmission and the diagnostic challenges of imported parasites. / A statistically significant reduction in self-reported morbidity was demonstrated between the treatment groups. However, no difference in health care utilization, measured as (outpatient) contact with a physician, was found over the six-month period. / The costs of screening were estimated to exceed the costs of disease in the absence of screening. However, other considerations must be taken into account in public health policy-making in this field.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.72046 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Gyorkos, Theresa Walburga. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000222387, proquestno: AAINL24045, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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