Abstract
Introduction
Dengue fever (DF) is a major public health concern worldwide and is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions. DF is linked to significant morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic costs is a burden on the health care system, particularly in poor and developing countries. DF has spread in Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia, for decades. In Cambodia, many community-based studies on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of DF have been conducted, but most of these studies involved community-based DF samples. However, hospital-based surveys on KAP are still lacking. Therefore, this survey aimed to identify the proportion and determinants of KAP, which plays a critical role in hospital-based prevention and care of the disease.
Methods
This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Pediatric Hospital (NPH) from August to October 2022 with a total sample of 158 caregivers of DF patients. The data collection was conducted using a convenience sampling approach with a structured closed-ended questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed using a stepwise backward elimination approach to predict correlations between independent factors and each KAP domain after adjusting for potential confounders. A p value < 0.05 was considered a statistical significance.
Results
The mean age of the study participants was 35 years (SD=7). All caregivers were mothers, and most of them were from provinces (62.0%). Overall, this study revealed that 62.0% of the caregivers had good knowledge of DF, with high positive attitudes (99.4%) and good practices (63.3%). Independent predictors of good knowledge were an older age group of 40-60 years with an AOR = 6.7 (95% CI: 1.9-23.9) and a higher education level (AOR = 4.9, 95% CI: 1.8- 13.2.). However, the only main predictor of good practice was good knowledge, with an AOR = 3.4 (95% CI: 1.5- 7.4).
Conclusions
This study highlights a relatively high level of good knowledge and good practices but very highly positive attitudes. There was a positive association between respondent age, higher education level and DF knowledge. Additionally, good knowledge of caregivers is the only main predictor of good practice of DF prevention and intervention. This could suggest that a better understanding of dengue symptoms, transmission and prevention could improve their practice performance against DF. This finding could be used to guide further education about DF. The prevention and control of DF should be promoted, and awareness among younger caregivers and those with less education should be increased to improve the fight against DF.