Societal knowledge, attitude, and practices towards dengue and associated factors in epidemic-hit areas: Geoinformation assisted empirical evidence

Syed Ali Asad Naqvi; Muhammad Sajjad; Aqil Tariq; Muhammad Sajjad; Liaqat Ali Waseem; Shankar Karuppannan; Adnanul Rehman; Mujtaba Hassan; Saad Al-Ahmadi; Wesam Atef Hatamleh

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23151

Societal knowledge, attitude, and practices towards dengue and associated factors in epidemic-hit areas: Geoinformation assisted empirical evidence

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 13;10(1):e23151. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23151. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geography, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Punjab, Pakistan.
² Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, College of Forest Resources, Mississippi State University, 775 Stone Boulevard, Mississippi State, 39762-9690, MS, USA.
³ Centre for Geo-computation Studies and Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
⁴ Department of Applied Geology, School of Applied Natural Sciences, Adama Science and Technology University, Adama P.O. Box 1888, Ethiopia.
⁵ Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710127, China.
⁶ Department of Space Science, Institute of Space Technology, Main Islamabad Expressway, Islamabad, Pakistan.
⁷ Department of Computer Science, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 51178, Riyadh, 11543, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Dengue is one of Pakistan's major health concerns. In this study, we aimed to advance our understanding of the levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) in Pakistan's Dengue Fever (DF) hotspots. Initially, at-risk communities were systematically identified via a well-known spatial modeling technique, named, Kernel Density Estimation, which was later targeted for a household-based cross-sectional survey of KAPs. To collect data on sociodemographic and KAPs, random sampling was utilized (n = 385, 5 % margin of error). Later, the association of different demographics (characteristics), knowledge, and attitude factors-potentially related to poor preventive practices was assessed using bivariate (individual) and multivariable (model) logistic regression analyses. Most respondents (>90 %) identified fever as a sign of DF; headache (73.8 %), joint pain (64.4 %), muscular pain (50.9 %), pain behind the eyes (41.8 %), bleeding (34.3 %), and skin rash (36.1 %) were identified relatively less. Regression results showed significant associations of poor knowledge/attitude with poor preventive practices; dengue vector (odds ratio [OR] = 3.733, 95 % confidence interval [CI ] = 2.377-5.861; P < 0.001), DF symptoms (OR = 3.088, 95 % CI = 1.949-4.894; P < 0.001), dengue transmission (OR = 1.933, 95 % CI = 1.265-2.956; P = 0.002), and attitude (OR = 3.813, 95 % CI = 1.548-9.395; P = 0.004). Moreover, education level was stronger in bivariate analysis and the strongest independent factor of poor preventive practices in multivariable analysis (illiterate: adjusted OR = 6.833, 95 % CI = 2.979-15.672; P < 0.001) and primary education (adjusted OR = 4.046, 95 % CI = 1.997-8.199; P < 0.001). This situation highlights knowledge gaps within urban communities, particularly in understanding dengue transmission and signs/symptoms. The level of education in urban communities also plays a substantial role in dengue control, as observed in this study, where poor preventive practices were more prevalent among illiterate and less educated respondents.

Keywords: Community awareness; Cross-sectional study; Dengue fever (DF); Epidemiology; KAPs; Rawalpindi; Spatial analysis.