Abstract
ObjectiveMore than half of the world’s population live in areas with a potential risk of acquiring dengue fever (DF). Health education interventions are effective, barring a language communication gap. The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of health education in the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards DF control and prevention in public and private schools.Materials and methodsWe assessed the DF control and prevention strategy KAP of students of eight public and private schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia before the dengue health education intervention sessions (pre-I) and three months following the education intervention sessions (post-I) using the same closed-ended validated questionnaire. Schools and students were selected by a multistage stratified random sample method. Statistical analysis was done using the paired and independent T-test in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).ResultsWe found a significant mean difference in the overall knowledge (pre-I, 7.86 ± 2.61; post-I, 10.94 ± 2.35), attitude (pre-I, 5.16 ± 1.50; post-I 6.23 ± 1.30), and practice (pre-I, 2.96 ± 1.33; post-I, 3.94 ± 1.12) scores. Private schools scored better post-intervention scores in knowledge and practice compared to public schools in local and English language medium.ConclusionsHealth education programs are essential for DF prevention and management. Institutes whose populations consists of students with various language backgrounds should not be ignored. Bilingual educational sessions are important in such private institutes. Our results indicate additional emphasis is required on putting interventional knowledge into practice.
Highlights
Dengue fever (DF) is an infectious disease transmitted mostly by the bite of the female Ades Aegypti mosquito and represents a great challenge to public health worldwide [1,2]
We found a significant mean difference in the overall knowledge, attitude, and practice scores
Private schools scored better post-intervention scores in knowledge and practice compared to public schools in local and English language medium
Summary
Dengue fever (DF) is an infectious disease transmitted mostly by the bite of the female Ades Aegypti mosquito and represents a great challenge to public health worldwide [1,2]. The expanding geographical distribution with high morbidity and mortality makes DF one of the more significant viral diseases [2]. In addition to DF vectors, human knowledge and behavior play an important role in the transmission of the disease [3]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 2.5 billion people (two-fifths of the world’s population) are at risk of developing this disease. More than 50 million DF cases occur worldwide every year, and children are the most common victims of this deadly disease [2,4,5]. The risk of disease spread in the rural areas should be considered [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
