Publication:

Knowledge and practices on prevention of dengue fever among urban slum dwelling adults

Background Dengue fever is a fast-spreading mosquito-borne virus disease in the world and it has become the major global health concern, which are currently a burning public health issue in Bangladesh. This research evaluated the knowledge and practices on the prevention of dengue fever and examined factors associated with knowledge levels.

Methods The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 346 adults in the Korail slum of Dhaka in January to December 2023. The survey was conducted through a face-to-face interview with the help of the pre-tested standardized and structured questionnaire and analyzed through SPSS. The predefined criteria that were used to calculate knowledge and practice scores. Using descriptive statistics, participant characteristics were compiled, and the relationships were assessed using Pearson's chi-square test.

Results The present study revealed only 17.3% of the respondents being good in knowledge about dengue prevention. When it comes to practices, 57.8% had satisfactory preventive practices. Strong relationships were identified between level of knowledge and source of information given by health personnel, radio, books/newspapers, social media, and advertisements (p<0.05). Although the awareness is high, there are significant misunderstandings on transmission, breeding location and warning signs, which serve to highlight the existence of a knowledge-practice gap.

Conclusions Urban slum dwellers were also lacking in correct knowledge and preventive measures. Formal sources of information enhanced understanding and it should be mentioned that specific health education and community-based intervention are necessary to decrease the risk of dengue.