Abstract
There is a gap in the literature on the understanding of the general Vietnamese population toward dengue fever (DF). This study aimed to explore knowledge, attitudes, practice (KAP) of dengue fever among Vietnamese participants and the potential associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 330 patients at the Bach Mai Hospital in Northern Vietnam. A Tobit regression model was utilized to investigate the associated factors. The average knowledge score was 4.6/19. Respondents perceived their risk of DF infection to be very low (39.5%) to low (20.7%) and had a neutral attitude about the necessity of hospitalization when being infected with DF (60.9%). A total of 17.6%, 9.8% and 6.6% of respondents reported frequently changing water, properly disposing of waste and covering water storage containers to eliminate larvae. Gender, education level, duration of illness and travel history were correlated with knowledge. Occupation, the presence of DF in the neighborhood, mosquito density at home and DF symptom severity were associated with attitudes. Occupation, mosquito density at home, type of patient, knowledge and attitudes were associated with practices. To enhance the KAP towards DF, further efforts should first be directed to improve knowledge through education, especially at the school level and people in less developed areas.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), among arboviral infection diseases, dengue is considered to be one of the most common types in the world; with approximately 390 million infected cases yearly, and 40% of the world population living in at-risk areas [1,2]
People who had better knowledge were more likely to have a more serious attitude toward dengue fever (DF) (Coef = 0.29; 95% CI = 0.16–0.42) and better prevention practices (Coef = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.35–0.53)
Our study found that the majority of participants possess basic knowledge about DF, consider the illness to be serious and practice some level of prevention and treatment seeking
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), among arboviral infection diseases, dengue is considered to be one of the most common types in the world; with approximately 390 million infected cases yearly, and 40% of the world population living in at-risk areas [1,2]. Incidence dramatically increased to 2 million cases from 2008 to 2015 among the American, South-East Asian and Western Pacific regions, and extended to some European countries due to globalization and traveling [1]. The knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the general population are the most critical factors on preventing the infection of dengue virus [8,9]. A study in Malaysia found that lack of knowledge on the dengue transmission and its preventive methods can increase the chance of spreading
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