Knowledge and Attitude of the Community People on Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) Program at Kala-azar Endemic Area in Bangladesh

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis also known as kala-azar is a chronic and potentially fatal parasitic disease in the world, affecting mainly the underprivileged people in the world. The success of the Kala-azar elimination program is mostly dependent on community participation which is an important aspect implemented by the world health organization in five south Asian countries. The participation of the community people mostly depends on the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice around risk factors associated with disease transmission among the population. This study was undertaken to assess the level of knowledge and attitude of the community people towards the indoor residual spraying (IRS) program in the Kala-azar endemic area. The study was carried out in 240 households by systemic random sampling on both hyper and moderate endemic areas in Bangladesh, and information was collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. Data from the study indicated that 44.6% of participants were illiterate, 99% had heard of kala-azar and 100% had heard about IRS. Team of IRS, family members, and neighbors play an important role as a source of information while the role of mass media was found to be limited. Almost all respondents who participate here seem to be that kala-azar is a serious health condition that drains family resources, but their attitude to doing beneficial activities of the IRS is not satisfactory because of their thought that it could be controlled by community effort. From the data, it is seen that people are knowledgeable about kala-azar, but disease transmission, infection origin, and control of the diseases are still not adequate. Their attitude toward indoor residual spraying program practice was not satisfactory. These findings suggest that it is necessary to continue and strengthen behavioral change through the implementation of the IRS program to progress the disease’s condition in the pandemic areas of Bangladesh.