Abstract
BackgroundThe Indonesian region of Aceh was the area most severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004. Department of Health data reveal an upward trend of dengue cases in Aceh since the events of the tsunami. Despite the increasing incidence of dengue in the region, there is limited understanding of dengue among the general population of Aceh. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding dengue among the people of Aceh, Indonesia in order to design intervention strategies for an effective dengue prevention program.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Aceh between November 2014 and March 2015 with a total of 609 participants living in seven regencies and two municipalities. Information on the socio-demographic characteristics of participants and their KAP regarding dengue was collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The KAP status (good vs. poor) of participants with different socio-demographic characteristics was compared using Chi Square-test, ANOVA or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of each KAP domain.ResultsWe found that 45% of participants had good knowledge regarding dengue and only 32% had good attitudes and good dengue preventive practices. There was a significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes, knowledge and practice, and attitudes and practice. In addition, people who had good knowledge were 2.7 times more likely to have good attitudes, and people who had good attitudes were 2.2 times more likely to have good practices regarding dengue. The level of education, occupation, marital status, monthly income, socioeconomic status (SES) and living in the city were associated with the knowledge level. Occupation, SES, and having experienced dengue fever were associated with attitudes. Education, occupation, SES and type of residence were associated with preventive practices.ConclusionOur study suggests that dengue prevention programs are required to increase KAP levels regarding dengue in the communities of Aceh.
Highlights
The Indonesian region of Aceh was the area most severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004
Less than one-tenth of the participants included in this study reported having had an episode of Dengue fever (DF), 22.2% of the participants declared had family member(s)
This study provides the first description of KAP regarding dengue virus (DENV) transmission and its prevention in Aceh, Indonesia, where an upward trend in DF incidence has been recorded in the aftermath of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami
Summary
The Indonesian region of Aceh was the area most severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004. Despite the increasing incidence of dengue in the region, there is limited understanding of dengue among the general population of Aceh. 60% of the Indonesian population (240 million) live in areas where DENV is known to be circulating. In 2016 there were 201,885 notified cases of DENV infections (77.96 per 100,000 population) and 1585 deaths due to DF [4]. Aceh, located at the northern end of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, was the most severely affected area by the earthquake and tsunami disaster of 26 December 2004. In 2016, a total of 2651 DF cases were reported in Aceh (52.02 per 100,000 population) [4]
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