The health beliefs, dengue knowledge and control behaviors among internally displaced persons versus local residents in Kachin Special Region II, Myanmar

Abstract

Dengue fever (DF) is one of main public health problems along the China-Myanmar border, however, data about DF is still lacking in Kachin Special Region II (KSR2), Myanmar. To understand health beliefs in general, and knowledge and treatment-seeking and prevention behaviors related to DF among the neglected population, the study was carried out by using a combination of quantitative household questionnaire surveys (HHSs) and qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews (SDIs). The HHS questionnaire was administered to a total of 258 household heads. The 215 (83.3%) HHS respondents believed in Christianity and Catholicism. However, the 141 (54.7%,) of the total respondents thought that people with evil practices might be punished by diseases. More respondents believed that too rainy weather and water were more related to disease in the internally displaced person (IDP) camp than the local community (P<0.01). Most of the HHS respondents had sound knowledge of dengue symptoms, causes, vectors, transmission and prevention. The 257 (99.6%) HHS respondents reported that their families went to the public health facilities first to seek treatment. The 210 (84.1%) respondents reported that they turned containers upside down within five days. The key informants (n = 18) identified that the appropriate knowledge and behaviors were attributable to formal school education and specific health education campaign during the outbreak response in 2017, and that Kachin people enjoy conversing with each other, neighbors talked about the dengue information they received. The study results indicated that Kachin people have a good knowledge and behaviors of dengue control. The actual situation of dengue is still not clear due to lacking data of laboratory test. In the context of resources shortage, more international assistance is still needed to promote local dengue control and prevention efforts.

Different Domains of Dengue Research in Malaysia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Questionnaire-Based Studies

“…As a consequence, a tremendous effort by the health department in Malaysia is essential for controlling dengue, especially in areas where the disease has been the most severe. One of the efforts that could be implemented is health education campaigns might lead to an increase in knowledge regarding dengue as reported in Myanmar [ 86 ] and Indonesia [ 87 ].…”

The health perceptions, dengue knowledge and control willingness among Dai ethnic minority in Yunnan Province, China

“…Taken overall, knowledge of dengue fever was sound among the Dai people. As shown in the investigations of the Shan people [ 20 ] and the Kachin people [ 21 ] in Myanmar, knowledge level of dengue fever are associated with dengue fever incidence. In this study, the knowledge level of dengue fever in the two communities with dengue fever outbreaks (Manduo and Mandahuo) was significantly higher than the community with only one imported dengue fever case (Jingmenghun) in 2017.…”

Development and validation of a structured survey questionnaire on knowledge, attitude, preventive practice, and treatment-seeking behaviour regarding dengue among the resident population of Sabah, Malaysia: an exploratory factor analysis

“…There is also contradictory evidence to indicate that having knowledge of dengue is not certain to make an individual adopt recommended preventive behaviours [ 8 ]. Such a discrepancy may be explained by several factors including a person’s lack of exposure to a dengue awareness program [ 9 ], their misconception due to inadequate knowledge [ 10 ] or traditional beliefs [ 11 ], as well as unreliable/improper methodology of data collection or questionnaire use [ 12 ].…”