. Yuvaraj Krishnamoorthy; . Deepika Chandar; . Venkatachalam Jayaseelan; . Karthiga Vijayakumar; . K. Sivaranjini; . M. Vijayageetha
Volume 8, Issue 12 , December 2018, , Pages 1-7
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dengue is the most common life‑threatening arboviral infection contributing to92 million infections worldwide. India alone contributes for 34% of the global burden. Success ...
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BACKGROUND: Dengue is the most common life‑threatening arboviral infection contributing to92 million infections worldwide. India alone contributes for 34% of the global burden. Success ofdengue control depends largely on adequate knowledge and good practices of preventive measures.However, there is a need to find the existing awareness among the general population, especiallyin rural areas. Thus, our present study was done to determine the awareness, attitude, and practicemeasures regarding dengue fever in rural Tamil Nadu.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community‑based cross‑sectional survey was done among 303individuals belonging to the selected village in rural Tamil Nadu during November 2016. Informationregarding sociodemographic details and awareness, attitude, and practice toward dengue werecollected using a semi‑structured questionnaire. Adequacy of knowledge and attitude was summarizedas proportion with 95% confidence interval.RESULTS: Among 303 participants, 204 (67.3%) were above 30 years of age; 196 (64.6%) werefemales; 255 (84.1%) were ever married; 149 (49.1%) were employed and most of them 93 (30.6%)were educated up to secondary level; 103 (33.9%) belonged to the Class 4 socioeconomic status.About 33.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 28.2–38.8) of the study participants had adequateknowledge and 56.1% (95% CI: 50.5–61.6) had positive attitude toward dengue prevention. About57.7% (95% CI: 52.1–63.2) were practicing preventive measures.CONCLUSION: The current study found that only one‑third of the participants had adequateknowledge regarding dengue but more than half of them had positive attitude toward dengueprevention and practicing mosquito control measures. Hence, large‑scale information, education,and communication campaigns need to done at frequent intervals for rural population.
