Knowledge, Attitudes and Perception of Mosquito Control in Different Citizenship Regimes within and Surrounding the Malakasa Open Accommodation Refugee Camp in Athens, Greece

Antonios Kolimenakis; Demetrios Tsesmelis; Clive Richardson; Georgios Balatsos; Panagiotis G Milonas; Angeliki Stefopoulou; Olaf Horstick; Laith Yakob; Dimitrios P Papachristos; Antonios Michaelakis

doi:10.3390/ijerph192416900

Knowledge, Attitudes and Perception of Mosquito Control in Different Citizenship Regimes within and Surrounding the Malakasa Open Accommodation Refugee Camp in Athens, Greece

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 16;19(24):16900. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416900.

Affiliations

¹ Scientific Directorate of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 145 61 Kifisia, Greece.
² School of Applied Arts and Sustainable Design, Hellenic Open University, 263 35 Patra, Greece.
³ Department of Economic and Regional Development, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, 176 71 Athina, Greece.
⁴ Research to Practice Group, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
⁵ Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.

Abstract

The study aims to evaluate the Knowledge, Attitude and Perception (KAP) of different societal groups concerning the implementation of targeted community-based mosquito surveillance and control interventions in different citizenship regimes. Targeted surveys were carried out within Malakasa camp for migrants and refugees, neighboring residential areas and urban areas in the wider Athens metropolitan area to investigate different knowledge levels and the role that both local and migrant communities can play in the implementation of community-based interventions based on their attitudes and perceptions. A scoring system was used to rate the collected responses. Results indicate different levels of KAP among the various groups of respondents and different priorities that should be considered in the design and execution of community interventions. Findings indicate a lower level of Knowledge Attitudes and Perceptions for the migrants, while the rate of correct answers for Perception significantly improved for migrants following a small-scale information session. The study highlights disparities in the levels of knowledge for certain public health issues and the feasibility of certain approaches for alleviating health-related challenges such as mosquito-borne diseases. Findings suggest that essential preparedness is needed by public authorities to respond to public health challenges related to migration and the spread of vector-borne diseases.

Keywords: KAP; migrants’ refugees’ health; mosquito borne diseases; mosquito control; public health; vectors.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Citizenship
Greece
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Mosquito Control*
Perception
Refugee Camps*

Grants and funding

This research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Programme «Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning» in the context of the project “Reinforcement of Postdoctoral Researchers—2nd Cycle” (MIS-5033021), implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY)”. Antonios Kolimenakis received the funding. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.