Abstract
The massive flood in Malaysia’s east coast in December 2014 has placed Kelantan in a possible dengue outbreak risk. At this point, community awareness is essential in preventing disease spread. However, no data on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of dengue in Kelantan have existed in relevance to flood disaster, although such information is necessary for the vector control programs. The purpose of this study is to assess the KAP regarding dengue among school children from flooded and unflooded areas and to evaluate the effectiveness of the dengue health education program in improving their KAP level. A school-based pre- and post-tests design was utilized in this study whereby a booklet on dengue was distributed during the interphase of the tests. The information collected was on the socio-demographic, KAP and the source of dengue information. We statistically compared the KAP between the two study sites and the pre- and post-test scores to evaluate the health education program. A total of 203 students participated in the survey, and 51.7% of them were flood victims. When comparing the baseline KAP, the respondents from the unflooded area had higher knowledge scores compared to those from the flooded area (P<0.05), while non-significant differences were observed in the attitude and practice between the two study areas (P>0.05). The health education program significantly improved knowledge and practice in the flooded area and knowledge only in the unflooded area (P<0.05). The multinomial regression analysis suggests that age and dengue history are the primary determinants that influence the high practice level in both areas. We suggest the need to increase routine dengue health education programs to all age groups targeting both high and low dengue risk areas, and the necessity to ensure the translation of positive knowledge and attitude changes into real dengue preventive practices.
Highlights
Continuous heavy monsoon rainfall has bought Malaysia’s east coast to a halt as a massive flood struck the region from mid-December 2014 to January 2015
Most of the respondents live in Bungalow/Village/Flats type of house (164: 80.8%) and 114 (56.2%) of the respondents stated that their house is surrounded by a moderate level of vegetation
There were about 111 (54.7%) of the total respondents stated that there is a moderate level of mosquito abundance in their neighborhood, while only 10 (4.9%) of the respondents stated severe mosquito abundance with an estimation of more than 100 mosquitoes
Summary
Continuous heavy monsoon rainfall has bought Malaysia’s east coast to a halt as a massive flood struck the region from mid-December 2014 to January 2015. The National Security Council reported that the 2014 flood was the worst in the history of Kelantan. Kelantan faced a devastating period of dengue epidemic with a total of 14,456 cases and 17 deaths [1]. The relationship between flooding and dengue incidence is indirect and complex. Flooding can initially wash away mosquito breeding grounds and cause a reduction in the mosquito population. Stagnant water remaining after the floodwater has receded could serve as a new and ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, and causes a resurgence in the vector population [2], which might increase the risk for disease transmission
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