Dengue Knowledge and Preventive Practices among Rural Residents in Samar Province, Philippines

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies dengue as a diseaseimportant in public health. The epidemiology and ecology of dengueinfections are strongly associated with human habits and activities. Thepresent study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practices regardingdengue infections among rural residents in Samar Province, Philippines. Across sectional design was adopted for this investigation A conveniencesamples of six hundred forty six (646) residents who were visiting the ruralhealth units in different municipalities of Samar, Philippines were taken asparticipants in study. More than half of the respondents had good knowledge(61.45%) on causes, signs and symptoms, mode of transmission, andpreventive measures about dengue. More than half of the respondents useddengue preventive measures such as fans (n = 340, 52.63%) , mosquito coil(n = 458, 70.90%), and bed nets (n = 387, 59.91%) to reduce mosquitoeswhile only about one third utilized insecticides sprays (n = 204, 31.58%) andscreen windows (n = 233, 36.07%) and a little portion used professional pestcontrol (n = 146, 22.60%). There was no correlation between knowledgeabout dengue and preventive practices (p=0.75). Television/Radio was citedas the main source of information on dengue infections. Findings suggest thatbetter knowledge does not necessarily lead to better practice of denguemeasures. Educational campaigns should give more emphasis on costeffective ways of reducing mosquito and preventing dengue such asenvironmental measures and control. Furthermore, wide range ofinformation, skills and support must be provided by the government toincrease dengue awareness among residents. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v2i2.251

Dengue Knowledge and Preventive Practices Among Rural Residents in Samar Province, Philippines

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies dengue as a disease important in public health. The epidemiology and ecology of dengue infections are strongly associated with human habits and activities. Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practices regarding dengue infections among rural residents in Samar Province, Philippines. Methods: A cross sectional design was adopted for this investigation A convenience samples of six hundred forty six (646) residents who were visiting the rural health units in different municipalities of Samar, Philippines were taken as participants in study. Results: More than half of the respondents had good knowledge (61.45%) on causes, signs and symptoms, mode of transmission, and preventive measures about dengue. More than half of the respondents used dengue preventive measures such as fans (n = 340, 52.63%) , mosquito coil (n = 458, 70.90%), and bed nets (n = 387, 59.91%) to reduce mosquitoes while only about one third utilized insecticides sprays (n = 204, 31.58%) and screen windows (n = 233, 36.07%) and a little portion used professional pest control (n = 146, 22.60%). There was no correlation between knowledge about dengue and preventive practices (p=0.75). Television/Radio was cited as the main source of information on dengue infections. Conclusions: Findings suggest that better knowledge does not necessarily lead to better practice of dengue measures. Educational campaigns should give more emphasis on cost effective ways of reducing mosquito and preventing dengue such as environmental measures and control. Furthermore, wide range of information, skills and support must be provided by the government to increase dengue awareness among residents. Keywords: Dengue fever, dengue preventive practices, dengue knowledge, Samar Provinc

Dengue Knowledge and Preventive Practices among Rural Residents in Samar Province, Philippines

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies dengue as a diseaseimportant in public health. The epidemiology and ecology of dengueinfections are strongly associated with human habits and activities. Thepresent study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practices regardingdengue infections among rural residents in Samar Province, Philippines. Across sectional design was adopted for this investigation A conveniencesamples of six hundred forty six (646) residents who were visiting the ruralhealth units in different municipalities of Samar, Philippines were taken asparticipants in study. More than half of the respondents had good knowledge(61.45%) on causes, signs and symptoms, mode of transmission, andpreventive measures about dengue. More than half of the respondents useddengue preventive measures such as fans (n = 340, 52.63%) , mosquito coil(n = 458, 70.90%), and bed nets (n = 387, 59.91%) to reduce mosquitoeswhile only about one third utilized insecticides sprays (n = 204, 31.58%) andscreen windows (n = 233, 36.07%) and a little portion used professional pestcontrol (n = 146, 22.60%). There was no correlation between knowledgeabout dengue and preventive practices (p=0.75). Television/Radio was citedas the main source of information on dengue infections. Findings suggest thatbetter knowledge does not necessarily lead to better practice of denguemeasures. Educational campaigns should give more emphasis on costeffective ways of reducing mosquito and preventing dengue such asenvironmental measures and control. Furthermore, wide range ofinformation, skills and support must be provided by the government toincrease dengue awareness among residents. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v2i2.251