Association between the level of education and knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding dengue in the Caribbean region of Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Community integration in dengue control requires assessments of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs), which can vary widely according to demographic and educational factors. We aimed to describe and compare the KAPs according to level of education in municipalities in the Caribbean region of Colombia. METHODS: A survey was administered from October to December 2015, including families selected through probabilistic sampling in eleven municipalities. The analysis focused on the comparative description of the responses according to level of education. The KAP prevalence ratios (PR) according to education were estimated using Poisson regression (robust), including age and sex as adjustment variables. RESULTS: Out of 1057 participants, 1054 (99.7%) surveys were available for analysis, including 614 (58.3%) who had a high school level of education or higher and 440 (41.7%) who had a lower level of education (not high school graduates). The high school graduates showed a higher frequency of correct answers in relation to knowledge about dengue symptoms and transmission. On the other hand, graduates showed a higher probability of practices and attitudes that favor dengue control, including not storing water in containers (PR: 2.2; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.42-3.43), attend community meetings (PR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.07-1.65), educate family members and neighbors in prevention measures (PR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.15-1.59). CONCLUSIONS: Level of education could be a key determinant of knowledge of the disease and its transmission, as well as attitudes and practices, especially those that involve the integration of community efforts for dengue control.

A prospective cohort study to assess seroprevalence, incidence, knowledge, attitudes and practices, willingness to pay for vaccine and related risk factors in dengue in a high incidence setting.

BACKGROUND: Dengue is one of the most important vector-borne diseases in the world, causing significant morbidity and economic impact. In Colombia, dengue is a major public health problem. Departments of La Guajira, Cesar and Magdalena are dengue endemic areas. The objective of this research is to determine the seroprevalence and the incidence of dengue virus infection in the participating municipalities from these Departments, and also establish the association between individual and housing factors and vector indices with seroprevalence and incidence. We will also assess knowledge, attitudes and practices, and willingness-to-pay for dengue vaccine. METHODS: A cohort study will be assembled with a clustered multistage sampling in 11 endemic municipalities. Approximately 1000 homes will be visited to enroll people older than one year who living in these areas, who will be followed for 1 year. Dengue virus infections will be evaluated using IgG indirect ELISA and IgM and IgG capture ELISA. Additionally, vector indices will be measured, and adult mosquitoes will be captured with aspirators. Ovitraps will be used for continuous estimation of vector density. DISCUSSION: This research will generate necessary knowledge to design and implement strategies with a multidimensional approach that reduce dengue morbidity and mortality in La Guajira and other departments from Colombian Caribbean.