Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of community regarding leishmaniasis in Ethiopia: A Systemic review and Meta-analysis, 2025

Abstract Background: Leishmaniasis is a tropical disease of public health concern, resulting from infection with Leishmania parasites and transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies. Community awareness is an essential component of disease control and prevention. This study aimed to synthesize evidence on knowledge, attitudes, and practices about leishmaniasis among community members. Methodology : A comprehensive literature search was conducted through search engine includes Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, Sciurus, Science Direct, HINARI databases, PubMed and reference lists of previous studies. Published articles were included based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Overall knowledge, attitude, and practices of study participants regarding the mode of leishmaniasis transmission. Results were presented in funnel plot, the forest plot, and figures with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI). To assess heterogeneity, we used inconsistency index (I2) test statistics. And also, we used random effect model and STATA software version 17 statistical software to compute the analysis of the data. The analysis was conducted and reported in accordance with Meta-analyses guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review. Results: After excluded articles which did not fulfill the inclusion criteria, a total of 11 original articles that reporting the leishmaniasis knowledge, attitude, and practice levels of communities in Ethiopia were included in the analysis. The overall good knowledge of community towards leishmaniasis was 23% with 95% CI (0.20;0.27), pooled positive attitude was 46% with 95% CI (0.42;0.51), and pooled good practice of 51% with 95% CI (0.28; 0.73). Sub-group analyses showed that there were slight differences in leishmaniasis practice among regions. In Oromia region 59% of respondents had good practice with 95% CL (-0.16;1.34), I2 = 54.6%, p-value < 0.0001 where as in SNNP region was 37% of respondents had good practice about leishmaniasis Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicates that the overall knowledge regarding leishmaniasis among Ethiopian communities is considerably low, and hence has large gaps in awareness about disease transmission, symptoms, prevention, and treatment. While attitude toward leishmaniasis is relatively better. In contrast, preventive practices showed a comparatively higher pooled level, which may suggest that some protective actions could be influenced by contextual factors, community norms, or public health interventions rather than adequate knowledge.