A study on knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue among hospitalized patients from Northern Sri Lanka

Introduction and Objectives Dengue fever is recognized as one of the major vector borne diseases and causes significant morbidity in tropical countries. Thus, evaluation of knowledge, attitude and practices of the population is of great importance to improve integrated control measures. The aim of the study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practices relating to dengue fever in 200 consecutive inward patients treated as having dengue fever in two medical units of Teaching Hospital, Jaffna. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive comparative study was carried out among dengue patients in two medical units of Teaching Hospital, Jaffna from January 2017 to April 2017. Dengue patients were recruited by convenient sampling, interviewed with validated questionnaires to assess their knowledge about dengue fever. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 21) analytical package. Results Awareness that dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitoes was shown by 97% of respondents. The Media was an important tool to gain information about dengue. Among students, schools played a key role in conveying health information. More than 90% of the study population exhibited health seeking behavior and the majority used paracetamol as a home remedy. Practices regarding preventive methods were predominantly for prevention of mosquito bites in the form of using nets (46%) and mosquito coils (34%), rather than elimination of breeding sites. Conclusions Significant association was found between knowledge about dengue fever and educational level. Although knowledge regarding mosquito control measures was 80%, this knowledge of preventive measures was not demonstrable in practice. A change in the approach of the health education program should be focused based on these findings for effective prevention. program should be focused based on these findings for effective prevention.