Knowledge and awareness towards dengue infection and its prevention: a cross sectional study from rural area of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Background: Dengue infection transmitted by Aedes aegypti is endemic in India. Environmental changes and lack of awareness result in increase in transmission of dengue infection and rise in dengue outbreaks. The present study was conducted to determine the knowledge of dengue infection and practices towards dengue prevention among a rural population in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu.Methods:The study was cross sectional study, conducted in Kadambadi village of Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu. The study was conducted among 224 study participants from June - August 2016. Systematic random sampling was followed for selecting the houses. A pretested, semi structured questionnaire was used. Significance of difference in proportions (qualitative variables) was calculated using Chi square test. Significance of p value was taken as p< 0.05.Results: Among the study participants, 210 (93.7%) heard about dengue infection. Fifty percent of participants responded correctly the symptoms of dengue infection. 89% responded correctly that dengue is transmitted by Aedes mosquito. Around 40% of the participants had correct knowledge about the breeding habitat and biting habit of Aedes mosquito. Study participants use various methods - mosquito coils (63.4%), mosquito nets (14.7%) for mosquito bite prevention. 24.1% does not follow any method of mosquito bite prevention.Conclusions:Though majority of the study participants heard about dengue symptoms and mosquito transmitting dengue infection, less than half were aware about breeding habits of Aedes mosquito and 25% did not follow any method of mosquito bite prevention practices. Community awareness is a key role in improvising dengue prevention practices.

Awareness of dengue and practice of dengue control measures among urban population in Tamil Nadu, India

“…In the study conducted by Malhotra et al, 72.62% of the study population were aware about mosquitoes transmitting dengue while Chellaiyan et al had reported 89%. 8,9 The result of the present study was also in accordance with a study done in Thailand by Swaddiwudhipong et al 10 In our study, more than fifty percent (53.7%) of the study population had correctly responded to the symptoms of dengue infection. This result is significantly less when compared to the results of the study done by Gupta et al 11 in rural and slum areas of Delhi where 92% of the respondents correctly responded that dengue fever will result in fever followed by headache.…”

“…8 But, the results of the study were similar to that obtained by Chellaiyan et al conducted near Chennai where 93.7% of the study participants knew about dengue. 9 This could be due to the fact that because of frequent outbreaks of dengue in South India when compared to North India and also due to awareness campaigns carried out by the government agencies.…”

Knowledge, awareness and attitude towards dengue fever outbreaks in the summer

“…Chellaiyan et al stated that two thirds (63.4%) of their participants used mosquito coils as preventive measures against dengue fever, about 15% used mosquito nets, and up to one fourth (24.1%) did not use any protective techniques against the mosquito bites. 12 Malhotra et al reported similar results. They stated that the most common preventive methods used in India were liquid vaporizers, mosquito coils, and health education.…”

“…Similarly, Chellaiyan et al studied the knowledge about dengue fever among rural inhabitants in India via a cross sectional study. 12 Among the 224 interviewed participants, 94% reported they had heard about the disease. However, when asked about the details of the disease, only 50% could correctly identify the disease symptoms, 40% knew about the breeding and biting habits of the mosquito, and 89% knew that the Aedes mosquito is the transmitting mosquito.…”

“…However, neighbors, relatives, friends, and sometimes healthcare professionals were uncommonly reported. 12,14,17,18 As regards the attitudes and the preventive measures adopted by individuals to protect themselves against dengue fever, different researchers reported variable data. Itrat et al reported that the vast majority of their participants from Pakistan believed that the use of antimosquito spray for prevention of mosquito bites is the main preventive technique.…”