Community participation in the prevention of human leptospirosis

Introduction: the Pan American Health Organization points out the emergence of 200 infectious diseases from zoonotic origin; leptospirosis is one of them, even after 125 years of its first description, it still remains as the one having the most extensive global distribution and provoking great damages to human health. Objective: to design a postgraduate course to raise the level of knowledge of primary health care professionals for community participation in the prevention of leptospirosis. Material and Methods: a descriptive study was conducted where theoretical and empirical methods were applied in La Conchita People’s Council, Hermanos Cruz University Outpatient polyclinic, Pinar del Rio municipality. This research was carried out during the first trimester of 2015. The target group was comprised of all residents in the People's Council and the sample was represented by 30 professionals working in different primary health care programs. Results: inadequate theoretical and practical knowledge in primary health care professionals was identified as a constraint to community participation in the prevention of leptospirosis. Conclusions: concerning the results of this research a program was proposed to train primary health care professionals in order to provide theoretical and practical tools for community participation in the prevention of leptospirosis.