{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T20:45:55Z","timestamp":1790196355139,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene","issue":"6","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT.<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) is high in communities within the Peruvian Amazon despite repeated mass-drug administration, demanding alternative strategies of control. Smartphone-attached microscopy (SAM) permits visualization of STH from a small portable microscope through a smartphone screen, potentially providing an inexpensive and rapid method of STH visualization in communities where diagnostic laboratories with microscopes are inaccessible. In this study, a total of 45 community health workers who work within the health systems of Loreto, Peru, attended a 1-day training session with lectures and practicums on STH and SAM. Participants received a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire. Post-intervention, participants were significantly more confident using SAM and identifying parasite images, symptoms, transmission, and treatment (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> \u2264 0.0045). Post-intervention, participants correctly labeled a median of five of seven SAM apparatus components and five of eight steps of Kato\u2013Katz technique, were less likely to choose taking medicine to prevent parasite infection (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.0075), and were more likely to select Kato\u2013Katz technique as a type of diagnostic test (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &lt; 0.0001). Most participants felt ready to use SAM in their communities and stated that it could help rural communities far from health centers or laboratories (24%); provide faster identification, results, diagnosis (19%); permit at-home or on-the-spot visualization (14%); and save money (14%). Results show that community health workers show a high level of willingness and competency to learn about both STH and SAM and may be a yet-unexplored practical method of augmenting STH visualization, bringing healthcare to communities in Loreto with poor access to diagnostic laboratories and clinics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.22-0210","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,17]],"date-time":"2023-04-17T13:10:46Z","timestamp":1681737046000},"page":"1175-1182","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Feasibility of Training Community Health Workers to Use Smartphone-Attached Microscopy for Point-of-Care Visualization of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in the Peruvian Amazon"],"prefix":"10.4269","volume":"108","author":[{"given":"Eve","family":"Ameen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simon","family":"Nin Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cesar","family":"Morales Guzman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Nacional de la Amazon\u00eda Peruana, Iquitos, Peru;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erin","family":"Taub","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Global Health Institute, Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook, New York;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Crystyan","family":"Siles","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6, Iquitos, Peru;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Graciela","family":"Meza Sanchez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Nacional de la Amazon\u00eda Peruana, Iquitos, Peru;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stalin","family":"Vilcarromero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cesar","family":"Ramal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Nacional de la Amazon\u00eda Peruana, Iquitos, Peru;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nolberto","family":"Tangoa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Salud San Juan, Ministerio de Salud Peruana, Iquitos, Peru;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luis A.","family":"Marcos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Global Health Institute, Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook, New York;"},{"name":"Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2795","reference":[{"key":"b1","series-title":"J Clin Invest","first-page":"1311","article-title":"Helminth infections: the great neglected tropical diseases","volume":"118","year":"2008"},{"key":"b2","series-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg","first-page":"636","article-title":"Soil-transmitted helminthiasis in children from a rural community taking part in a periodic deworming program in the Peruvian Amazon","volume":"101","year":"2019"},{"key":"b3","series-title":"Int Health","first-page":"i19","article-title":"Water, sanitation and hygiene for accelerating and sustaining progress on neglected tropical diseases: a new global strategy 2015\u201320","volume":"8","year":"2016"},{"key":"b4","series-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg","first-page":"783","article-title":"Relationship between intensity of soil-transmitted helminth infections and anemia during 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