Level of Awareness of Dengue Disease among School Children in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka, and Effect of School-Based Health Education Programmes on Improving Knowledge and Practices
Joint Authors
Gunathilaka, Nayana
Abeyewickreme, Wimaladharma
Udayanga, Lahiru
Radhika, N. M. L.
Kasturiratne, Anuradhani
Source
Issue
Vol. 2019, Issue 2019 (31 Dec. 2019), pp.1-8, 8 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2019-06-19
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
8
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Introduction.
Limited awareness and nonsystematized health education programmes have contributed adversely to the increase in dengue incidence at schools due to limited attention which has positively contributed to the increase in vector receptivity.
The current study was conducted to evaluate the existing level of awareness of dengue infection among a selected group of school children and to assess the effectiveness of dengue awareness programmes to improve the existing knowledge and preventive practices on dengue.
Methods.
A cohort of 2,194 students (13–15 years old) from 10 schools at Kelaniya educational zone, Gampaha District, Western Province of Sri Lanka, was enrolled for the current study, which was conducted during 2015-2016.
A self-administered questionnaire, comprising 20 questions, was used to evaluate the present knowledge of the students on various aspects of dengue.
A structured awareness programme (2 hours) was conducted for students, followed by a reassessment.
General Linear Model (GLM) and chi-square test of independence were used to investigate the variations in knowledge levels.
Results.
The majority of students were characterized by “Good” (46.31%, n= 1016) and “Moderate” (42.62%, n= 935) awareness, while only 2.92% (n= 64) of students fell into the “Excellent” (>80%) category prior to the awareness programme.
Even though, existing knowledge of students about dengue ranged between “Moderate” and “Good” categories, awareness of “symptoms & patient care” and “control & prevention practices” were limited.
After the programme, the awareness level reached the “Excellent” (41.84%, n=918) level indicating a significant increase by 38.92%, according to the chi-square test (p<0.05 at 95% level of confidence).
Conclusion.
We recommend implementing school-based educational programmes in order to raise the awareness and to translate knowledge into sound practice to control dengue disease epidemics in these areas.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Radhika, N. M. L.& Gunathilaka, Nayana& Udayanga, Lahiru& Kasturiratne, Anuradhani& Abeyewickreme, Wimaladharma. 2019. Level of Awareness of Dengue Disease among School Children in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka, and Effect of School-Based Health Education Programmes on Improving Knowledge and Practices. BioMed Research International،Vol. 2019, no. 2019, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1124335
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Radhika, N. M. L.…[et al.]. Level of Awareness of Dengue Disease among School Children in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka, and Effect of School-Based Health Education Programmes on Improving Knowledge and Practices. BioMed Research International No. 2019 (2019), pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1124335
American Medical Association (AMA)
Radhika, N. M. L.& Gunathilaka, Nayana& Udayanga, Lahiru& Kasturiratne, Anuradhani& Abeyewickreme, Wimaladharma. Level of Awareness of Dengue Disease among School Children in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka, and Effect of School-Based Health Education Programmes on Improving Knowledge and Practices. BioMed Research International. 2019. Vol. 2019, no. 2019, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1124335
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1124335