Cross-sectional study of dengue-related knowledge, attitudes and practices in Villa El Salvador, Lima, Peru

Abstract

ObjectivesTo describe and quantify the dengue-related knowledge, attitudes and practices of residents in an urban shantytown in Lima, Peru.Design/settingA cross-sectional survey of adults between 18 and 80 years living in approximately 120 blocks in Oasis, an urban shantytown situated in the low-to-middle income district of Villa El Salvador in Southern Lima. The survey was adapted from an existing survey previously used in Iquitos, Peru, and included questions relating to knowledge of dengue symptoms, transmission, prevention and current mosquito control practices.ParticipantsA total of 240 surveys were completed with 80% of respondents being female and approximately 50% of all respondents describing themselves as housewives.ResultsAlthough 97.9% of respondents had heard of dengue, only 6.2% of people knew someone who had experienced the disease. Approximately half (54.2%) of the respondents knew dengue was transmitted by mosquitoes and 51.7% were able to identify fever and one other correct symptom of dengue. Female sex was significantly associated with greater symptom knowledge (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.72) and prevention knowledge (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.06 to 4.21). Past or current higher education attendance was significantly associated with symptom knowledge (OR 2.56, 95% CI 1.25 to 5.44) and transmission knowledge (OR 3.46, 95% CI 1.69 to 7.57). Knowledge of dengue was not significantly associated with carrying out practices to control mosquitoes (OR 1.76, 95% CI 0.87 to 3.54).ConclusionsThis population demonstrated baseline dengue knowledge. However, this was incomplete and substantially less when compared with endemic areas. Given the sporadic nature of dengue transmission in Lima, it is not surprising that knowledge of the disease was not associated with carrying out practices to reduce mosquitoes. However, as dengue transmission in Lima is likely to increase, understanding how best to improve public knowledge of the disease and how to translate this into appropriate community action will be a key public health consideration.

A Household-Based Survey to Understand Factors Influencing Awareness, Attitudes and Knowledge towards Wolbachia-Aedes Technology

“…Respondents with more years of formal education may be more likely to be better-read and hence more informed of current affairs and new technologies. This is consistent with various knowledge, attitude and practice studies conducted on dengue and dengue prevention [28][29][30]. Among respondents who were aware of the project, the majority (76%) were confident of their knowledge in the topic, as revealed by the perceived knowledge (PK) scores.…”

Current Knowledge, Attitude and Practice about Dengue Fever among Teenage Students of South Punjab Region, Pakistan

“…Being male and more seasoned young people had huge relationship with pessimistic effect across most areas (p<0.05). Elson et al (2020) found that sum of 240 samples were finished with 80% of respondents being female and roughly half of all respondents depicting themselves as housewives. Although 97.9% of respondents had known about dengue, just 6.2% of individuals knew somebody who had encountered the infection.…”

A cross-sectional survey of knowledge, attitude, and practices toward dengue fever among health workers in a tertiary health institution in Sokoto state, Nigeria

“…[ 1 ] It is a mosquito-borne viral infection caused by one of the four serotypes of the dengue virus. [ 2 ] The disease is prevalent in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. [ 2 3 4 ] It has been estimated that around 50% of the world population lives in areas where the disease transmission is favorable.…”

“…[ 2 ] The disease is prevalent in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. [ 2 3 4 ] It has been estimated that around 50% of the world population lives in areas where the disease transmission is favorable. [ 5 6 ] The global burden is seen in the Americas region with annual 1.5 million cases, and around 3 million cases of the disease were reported in 2019 by the Pan America Health Organization.…”

“…Aedes aegypti and Aedes aldopicus transmit DF—the two mosquitoes responsible for transmitting the disease among humans. [ 2 ] DF can develop into a severe form of infection called dengue hemorrhagic fever and can lead to severe complications and even death. [ 1 ]…”