The Association of Beliefs About Heredity with Preventive and Interpersonal Behaviors in Communities Affected by Podoconiosis in Rural Ethiopia

Desta Ayode College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Colleen M. McBride College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Hendrik de Heer College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Emi Watanabe College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Tsega Gebreyesus College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Getnet Tadele College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Abebayehu Tora College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Gail Davey College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia; Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom

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Little is known about how beliefs about heredity as a cause of health conditions might influence preventive and interpersonal behaviors among those individuals with low genetic and health literacy. We explored causal beliefs about podoconiosis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) endemic in Ethiopia. Podoconiosis clusters in families but can be prevented if individuals at genetically high risk wear shoes consistently. Adults (N = 242) from four rural Ethiopian communities participated in qualitative assessments of beliefs about the causes of podoconiosis. Heredity was commonly mentioned, with heredity being perceived as (1) the sole cause of podoconiosis, (2) not a causal factor, or (3) one of multiple causes. These beliefs influenced the perceived controllability of podoconiosis and in turn, whether individuals endorsed preventive and interpersonal stigmatizing behaviors. Culturally informed education programs that increase the perceived controllability of stigmatized hereditary health conditions like podoconiosis have promise for increasing preventive behaviors and reducing interpersonal stigma.

Author Notes

* Address correspondence to Colleen M. McBride, Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Building 31, MSC 2073, 31 Center Drive, Room B1B54, Bethesda, MD 20892. E-mail: cmcbride@mail.nih.gov

Financial support: This project was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the Social & Behavioral Science Branch (SBRB). The SBRB is supported by the National Human Genome Research Institutes, National Institutes of Health.

Authors' addresses: Desta Ayode and Getnet Tadele, College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, E-mails: destaayode@yahoo.com and getnett2001@yahoo.com. Colleen M. McBride and Emi Watanabe, Social & Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, E-mails: cmcbride@mail.nih.gov and watanabee@mail.nih.gov. Hendrik de Heer, Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, College of Health and Human Services, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, E-mail: hendrik.deheer@nau.edu. Tsega Gebreyesus, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, E-mail: tgebreye@jhsph.edu. Abebayehu Tora, Department of Sociology, Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia, E-mail: abezed@yahoo.com. Gail Davey, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom, E-mail: G.Davey@bsms.ac.uk.

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