Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding dengue virus infection among inhabitants of Aceh, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The Indonesian region of Aceh was the area most severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004. Department of Health data reveal an upward trend of dengue cases in Aceh since the events of the tsunami. Despite the increasing incidence of dengue in the region, there is limited understanding of dengue among the general population of Aceh. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding dengue among the people of Aceh, Indonesia in order to design intervention strategies for an effective dengue prevention program. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Aceh between November 2014 and March 2015 with a total of 609 participants living in seven regencies and two municipalities. Information on the socio-demographic characteristics of participants and their KAP regarding dengue was collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The KAP status (good vs. poor) of participants with different socio-demographic characteristics was compared using Chi Square-test, ANOVA or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of each KAP domain. RESULTS: We found that 45% of participants had good knowledge regarding dengue and only 32% had good attitudes and good dengue preventive practices. There was a significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes, knowledge and practice, and attitudes and practice. In addition, people who had good knowledge were 2.7 times more likely to have good attitudes, and people who had good attitudes were 2.2 times more likely to have good practices regarding dengue. The level of education, occupation, marital status, monthly income, socioeconomic status (SES) and living in the city were associated with the knowledge level. Occupation, SES, and having experienced dengue fever were associated with attitudes. Education, occupation, SES and type of residence were associated with preventive practices. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that dengue prevention programs are required to increase KAP levels regarding dengue in the communities of Aceh.

Willingness to pay for a dengue vaccine and its associated determinants in Indonesia: A community-based, cross-sectional survey in Aceh.

Vaccination strategies are being considered as a part of dengue prevention programs in endemic countries. To accelerate the introduction of dengue vaccine into the public sector program and private markets, understanding the private economic benefits of a dengue vaccine is therefore essential. The aim of this study was to assess the willingness to pay (WTP) for a dengue vaccine among community members in Indonesia and its associated explanatory variables. A community-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted in nine regencies of Aceh province, Indonesia, from November 2014 to March 2015. A pre-tested validated questionnaire was used to facilitate the interviews. To assess the explanatory variables influencing participants' WTP for a dengue vaccine, a linear regression analysis was employed. We interviewed 677 healthy community members; 476 participants (87.5% of the total) were included in the final analysis. An average individual was willing to pay around US-$ 4 (mean: US-$ 4.04; median: US-$ 3.97) for a dengue vaccine. Our final multivariate model revealed that working as a civil servant, living in the city, and having good knowledge on dengue viruses, a good attitude towards dengue, and good preventive practice against dengue virus infection were associated with a higher WTP (P<0.05). Our model suggests that marketing efforts should be directed to community members who are working in the suburbs especially as farmers. In addition, the results of our study underscore the need for low-cost quality vaccines, public sector subsidies for vaccinations, and intensifying efforts to further educate and encourage households regarding other dengue preventive measures, using trusted individuals as facilitators.

DENGUE PREVENTION: CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ECONOMIC STATUS, KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE, VACCINE ACCEPTANCE AND WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE IN A STUDY.

The aim of this study was to study the relationships between economic status, knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue fever (DF), attitude towards vaccination against dengue virus infection, willingness to participate in a study on dengue, and acceptance of a dengue vaccine. Information on variables of interest was collected in questionnaire-assisted interviews during a communitybased cross-sectional survey conducted in Aceh, Indonesia. A proposed relationship model was tested using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to reconstruct an alternative relationship model among variables. Our proposed relationship model differed from the result of the EFA. The CFA indicated that knowledge and attitudes towards DF had the strongest relationship. We also found several direct relationships between sets of variables: a) economic status and knowledge on DF, b) economic status and practices regarding DF, c) knowledge and practices regarding DF, d) attitudes towards DF and dengue vaccine acceptance, as well as e) attitudes towards vaccination and dengue vaccine acceptance. There was no relationship between economic status and dengue vaccine acceptance. In conclusion, our model suggested that the most suitable factor to be targeted for improving dengue prevention was knowledge about DF. In addition, improving attitudes towards vaccination seemed to be the most appropriate effort to increase public acceptance of a dengue vaccine.

Modifiable determinants of attitude towards dengue vaccination among healthy inhabitants of Aceh, Indonesia: Findings from a community-based survey.

OBJECTIVE: To explore and understand the attitude towards dengue vaccination and its modifiable determinants among inhabitants of Aceh (northern Sumatra Island, Indonesia), the region that was most severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004. METHODS: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 535 healthy inhabitants in nine regencies (Kabupaten or Kotamadya) of Aceh that were selected randomly from November 2014 to March 2015. A set of validated, pre-tested, structured questionnaires was used to guide the interviews. The questionnaires covered a range of explanatory variables and one outcome variable (attitude to dengue vaccination). Multi-step logistic regression analysis and Spearman's rank correlation were used to test the role of explanatory variables for the outcome variable. RESULTS: More than 70% of the participants had a poor attitude towards dengue vaccination. Modifiable determinants associated with poor attitude to dengue vaccination were low education level, working as farmers and traditional market traders, low socioeconomic status and poor knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue fever (P < 0.05). The KAP domain scores were correlated strongly with attitude to dengue vaccination, rs = 0.25, rs = 0.67 and rs = 0.20, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis found that independent predictors associated with attitude towards dengue vaccination among study participants were only sex and attitude towards dengue fever (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that low KAP regarding dengue fever, low education level and low socioeconomic status are associated with a poor attitude towards dengue vaccination. Therefore, inhabitants of suburbs who are working as farmers or traditional market traders with low socioeconomic status are the most appropriate target group for a dengue vaccine introduction program.

Community Willingness to Participate in a Dengue Study in Aceh Province, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Dengue virus infection is the most rapidly spreading vector-borne disease in the world. Essential research on dengue virus transmission and its prevention requires community participation. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the factors that are associated with the willingness of communities in high prevalence areas to participate in dengue research. The aim of this study was to explore factors associated with the willingness of healthy community members in Aceh province, Indonesia, to participate in dengue research that would require phlebotomy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in nine regencies and municipalities of Aceh from November 2014 to March 2015. Interviews using a set of validated questionnaires were conducted to collect data on demography, history of dengue infection, socioeconomic status, and knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue fever. Two-step logistic regression and Spearman's rank correlation (rs) analysis were used to assess the influence of independent variables on dependent variables. Among 535 participants, less than 20% had a good willingness to participate in the dengue study. The factors associated with good willingness to participate were being female, working as a civil servant, private employee or entrepreneur, having a high socioeconomic status and good knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue. Good knowledge and attitude regarding dengue were positive independent predictors of willingness to participate (OR: 2.30 [95% CI: 1.36-3.90] and 3.73 [95% CI: 2.24-6.21], respectively). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The willingness to participate in dengue research is very low among community members in Aceh, and the two most important associated factors are knowledge and attitude regarding dengue. To increase participation rate, efforts to improve the knowledge and attitude of community members regarding dengue fever and dengue-related research is required before such studies are launched.