Association between the level of education and knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding dengue in the Caribbean region of Colombia

Abstract

BackgroundCommunity integration in dengue control requires assessments of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs), which can vary widely according to demographic and educational factors. We aimed to describe and compare the KAPs according to level of education in municipalities in the Caribbean region of Colombia.MethodsA survey was administered from October to December 2015, including families selected through probabilistic sampling in eleven municipalities. The analysis focused on the comparative description of the responses according to level of education. The KAP prevalence ratios (PR) according to education were estimated using Poisson regression (robust), including age and sex as adjustment variables.ResultsOut of 1057 participants, 1054 (99.7%) surveys were available for analysis, including 614 (58.3%) who had a high school level of education or higher and 440 (41.7%) who had a lower level of education (not high school graduates). The high school graduates showed a higher frequency of correct answers in relation to knowledge about dengue symptoms and transmission.On the other hand, graduates showed a higher probability of practices and attitudes that favor dengue control, including not storing water in containers (PR: 2.2; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.42–3.43), attend community meetings (PR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.07–1.65), educate family members and neighbors in prevention measures (PR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.15–1.59).ConclusionsLevel of education could be a key determinant of knowledge of the disease and its transmission, as well as attitudes and practices, especially those that involve the integration of community efforts for dengue control.

Experiencia y percepción del riesgo asociados a conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre dengue en Riohacha, Colombia

“…This could suggest that recognition of the epidemiological situation can be a determinant in the acquisition of knowledge about dengue. Educational level and age are essential variables of adjustment as they had already been recognized as factors associated with knowledge about dengue and its transmission in the study population 25 , as it was observed in Malaysia 17 and Brazil 11 . This suggests that the university community could be a facilitator in the knowledge transference.…”

“…This suggests that the university community could be a facilitator in the knowledge transference. On a separate note, this also shows that the population with low educational levels would have significant barriers to acquiring knowledge relevant to the prevention of the disease 25 .…”

“…The first one aimed to evaluate the KAP, validated by Caceres-Manrique et al 24 , which contained 21 questions about knowledge and practices, 12 questions about attitudes, and nine questions concerning demographic data. Details on this questionnaire can be found in a previous article, which focused on the association between the educational level and the KAP 25 .…”

“…As independent variables, the following were considered: the perceived risk of falling ill; and the experience with dengue cases (diagnosed, hospitalized, and death from dengue) in the personal, family, and neighborhood levels. Moreover, as potentially confounding variables, the demographic variables including age, sex, educational level 25 , inhabitants per dwelling, number of working people, and the presence of under 18-years-olds in the place of household were taken into consideration.…”

Assessment of knowledge and attitude regarding intrauterine devices among auxiliary nurse midwife in two districts of North Bengal

“…In this study, higher educational level was associated with better knowledge and favourable attitude. 17 This suggests that level of education could be related to the degree of empowerment. These results are consistent with those observed in other studies in which the level of education was shown to be an independent predictor of attitudes and practices.…”