Awareness of Dengue and Practice of Dengue Control Among the Semi-Urban Community: A Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract

Primary prevention is the most effective measure in dengue prevention and control. The objectives were (i) to determine the level of knowledge and practice of dengue control amongst the study community, and (ii) to explore the factors affecting practice of dengue control in the study area. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a semi-urban Town of Malaysia, using a structured questionnaire covering sociodemography, knowledge related to dengue, knowledge related to Aedes mosquito and preventive measures against the disease. For comparison of survey responses, chi-square test was applied for categorical data. To explore the factors affecting the practice of dengue control, a linear regression model was introduced. Almost all of the respondents (95%) had heard about dengue. Overall, misconceptions of dengue transmission were identified and the practice of dengue control in the study population was insufficient. About half (50.5%) had misconceptions that Aedes can breed in dirty water and the preferred biting time is dusk or sunset (45.6%). Only 44.5% of the households surveyed had covered their water containers properly. Significant associations were found between knowledge scores of dengue and age (P = 0.001), education level (P = 0.001), marital status (P = 0.012), and occupation (P = 0.007). In regression analysis, only the knowledge of dengue was significantly and positively associated with practice on dengue control. A future study with larger samples and more variables to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of dengue control is recommended.

Knowledge, awareness and practices regarding dengue fever

“…95% had heard about dengue and half (50.5%) had misconceptions that Aedes can breed in dirty water. 13 It was similar to our study.…”

A Cross-sectional Survey on the Knowledge and Attitudes towards Zika Virus and its Prevention among Residents of Selangor, Malaysia

“…These results are in line with other published studies. [22,26] The Aedes aegypti mosquito is known to bite mostly during daytime, [23] however, a large proportion of participants were not aware of this unique behavior of the vector. This result confirms the finding of another study in which participants wrongly believed that Aedes aegypti bites only early in the morning.…”

“…First, a comprehensive review of the literature [5,12,15,[21][22][23][24] was carried out to draft an initial version of the questionnaire. Second, the drafted questionnaire was then reviewed by a panel of infectious disease specialists and academics (n=4).…”

Cross-Sectional Survey on the Dengue Knowledge, Attitudes and Preventive Practices Among Students and Staff of a Public University in Malaysia

“…Yet, Al-Dubai et al 11 and Juni et al 12 did not reveal any association between ethnicity and dengue preventive behaviour. Findings regarding the association of dengue preventive behavior with age and income level are also conflicting [12][13][14][15][16][17] .…”

“…Some of the research focused on specific residential, rural or semi-urban areas 10,13,16 , whereas other studies were conducted among different communities 11,17 . The questionnaires used in the studies differed greatly from each other.…”