The effects of socio-economic status, dengue knowledge and perception on source reduction and protective behavior in selected marginal areas of Belmopan

ABSTRACT

Dengue, a mosquito-borne disease is a major health concern worldwide. The Belize Ministry of Health mosquito control strategies include fumigating, distributing bed nets, conducting educational campaign, among other activities. The educational campaign, specifically, aims to increase both the source reduction of mosquito breeding sites and the protective behavior against mosquito bites. To understand the relationship between educational campaign and the mosquito preventative practices, a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) survey was conducted in two marginal areas of Belmopan that were considered high risk areas for dengue by the Ministry of Health. The two marginal areas were selected through stratified sampling according to their socio-economic status and within each area the houses were then randomly selected and questions pertaining to their knowledge, attitude and preventative practices for dengue were asked. By analyzing the relationship between demographic background, knowledge, attitude, and practice using bivariate analysis the results demonstrated that although the knowledge of dengue did not have a significant impact on the preventative practice of individuals, their attitudes had. Forty-eight percent of individuals who were considered to have a high concern towards dengue were practicing preventative and protective measures against mosquitos. We conclude that more educational programs should focus on increasing the concern towards dengue along with awareness and encouragement of conducting mosquito source reduction.(AU)