Knowledge, attitudes and preventive behaviors related to dengue vector breeding control measures among adults in communities of Vientiane, capital of the Lao PDR

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and preventive behaviors (KAP) of adults in relation to dengue vector control measures in the communities of Vientiane, the capital of the Lao PDR. A total of 207 respondents were actively participating in this cross-sectional descriptive study in 2011. Representatives of households were interviewed face-to-face by six trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire. KAP reliabilities of 0.89, 0.91 and 0.95 were reported in the pilot sample of 30 cases. The associations between each independent variable and prevention behavior were tested with chi-square tests. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the factors that were significantly associated with preventive behavior while controlling for the other variables. The results revealed that 51.69% of the respondents had a high level of knowledge. More than 94% of the respondents knew that dengue fever is a dangerous communicable disease and that dengue fever is transmitted from person to person via mosquitoes. More than half (56.52%) of the participants had positive attitudes toward vector control measures, and 52.17% exhibited a high level of preventive behavior in terms of dengue vector control measures. Preventive behaviors were significantly associated with information provided from sources that included health personnel (p = 0.038) and heads of villages (p=0.031) and with knowledge levels (p < 0.001). This study suggests that proactive health education through appropriated mass media and community clean-up campaigns should strengthen and encourage community participation, particularly in terms of addressing mosquito larvae in overlooked places, such as the participants' own homes, for example, in flower vases and ant traps.

Social-ecological factors and preventive actions decrease the risk of dengue infection at the household-level: results from a prospective dengue surveillance study in Machala, Ecuador

“…Dengue-related KAPs have been shown to be associated with the following demographic variables: sex, age, marital status, education, literacy, employment, occupation, income, ethnicity, and religion [26–37]. Other risk factors include frequent fogging of the neighborhood [38], adequate resources and assistance from public health staff [27], community support or governmental infrastructure to control neighboring and public spaces [39], and having a reputable source of information such as health personnel or head of the village [40]. In Ecuador, dengue risk was found to be associated with older female heads of household, access to piped water in the home, poor housing condition, household water storage, higher housing density, lack of knowledge, and low risk perception [41,42].…”

“…Demographic variables that have been reported to be associated with KAPs in one or more study include sex, age, marital status, education, literacy, employment, occupation, income, ethnicity, and religion (17,21,22,24,26,28,30–35). Other social-ecological factors associated with KAPs include frequent fogging of the neighborhood (20), adequate resources and assistance from public health staff (21), presence of dengue in the neighborhood (36,37), presence of mosquitoes in the neighborhood (35), internet access (30), community support or governmental infrastructure to control neighboring and public spaces (38), and having a reputable source of information such as health personnel or head of the village (27).…”

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

“…The questionnaires used in the studies differed greatly from each other. Thus, in some studies, the dengue knowledge component of the questionnaire included questions on disease transmission and dengue signs and symptoms 14 while others focused exclusively on mosquito biting and breeding habits 18,19 . Several studies reported that they applied convenience sampling 11,16,20 , and some studies did not specify a sampling method 12,14 , which might have compromised the generalizability of the findings.…”

Household survey on attitude and practice toward dengue infection among rural dwellers

“…This finding was similar with the findings in a study in Vientiane. 25 Association between socio-demographic and KAP regarding dengue fever was analysed by using Pearson's Chi Square test. High education level was significantly associated with good practice of prevention towards dengue infection.…”