Comparative study of dengue knowledge among adults of urban and rural population in India

Abstract

Dengue, an acute febrile illness has become a major public health problem leading to increase in the disease burden in terms of disability and deaths. Objectives: To assess and compare the knowledge of dengue among adults in urban and rural population. Materials and Methods: Cross Sectional Study was done among urban and rural population for six months. The study participants were the adult (>18 years) population residing in the urban and rural areas for more than a year. Information was obtained using questionnaire and results were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: Of the 200 study participants, majority 144 (72%) were literates and 93 (46.5%) belonged to low socio-economic status. Majority of the participants (84%) cited mosquito bite as the commonest mode of spread. When asked about the symptoms, 63.5% told fever is the commonest and 32% did not know any of the symptoms. When knowledge of preventive measures against mosquitoes was analyzed, 50% told it can be prevented by using repellants and 37% told by avoiding water stagnation. When knowledge scores were assessed, 57 (70.37%) in the urban areas possessed sufficient knowledge on dengue when compared to 24 (29.63%) in the rural area (Highly Significant p<0.0001). Conclusion: In spite of dengue being a very common arthropod-borne viral disease, there is insufficient knowledge in the community. Hence measures should be undertaken to improve the awareness of dengue through intense health education campaigns.