UNCERTAINTY, FEAR OF DENGUE, AND PRACTICE OF PREVENTIVE MEASURES: A COMMUNITY-BASED SURVEY IN LAHORE, PAKISTAN
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess and correlate fear, uncertainty and practice of precautionary measures in relation to Dengue Fever (DF) in community from Lahore, Pakistan.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan between September to November 2016. Multistage random sampling technique was used to enroll 400 adults from nine different towns. A self-constructed questionnaire was used to assess uncertainty, fear and practice of preventive measures. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 21.
RESULTS: Out of 400 participants, 214 (53.5%) were males and 186 (46.5%) were females, with age ranging between 16-65 years. In correlation analysis, fear had a slightly positive correlation with uncertainty (r=0.02), and preventive practice (r=0.01), whereas uncertainty had a negative correlation with preventive practice (r=-0.22). In demographic components, age had the best correlation with fear (r=012) as compared to others. Men reported to have greater uncertainty, t (1,198=2.11, p<0.04) and fear of having DF [t (1,198=3.71, p<0.001)], whereas women practised significantly more precautionary measures [t (1,198=-3.08, p<0.001)].The participants whose relative had suffered from DF reported greater fear, [t (1,198=2.78, p<0.01)] and uncertainty [t (1,198=2.04, p<0.05)]. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that uncertainty (β=-0.34; p<0.001) and its interaction with gender (β=0.22; p<0.01) were significant predictors of practice of preventive measures.
CONCLUSION: Being male, having fewer years of education and having relatives who had suffered from DF were correlated more with uncertainty and fear. Women practiced preventive measures for DF more than men practice and had a higher uncertainty as well.
Article Details
Work published in KMUJ is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online
(e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
References
World Health Organization (WHO). Dengue and severe dengue WHO fact sheet;2020. [Accessed on: August 21, 2020]. Available from URL: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue.
World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia. Comprehensive Guideline for Prevention and Control of Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever. Revised and expanded edition.; 2011. [Accessed on: September 12, 2018]. Available from URL: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/204894/B4751.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
Ahmad S, Aziz MA, Aftab A, Ullah Z, Ahmad MI, Mustan A. Epidemiology of dengue in Pakistan, present prevalence and guidelines for future control. Int J Mosq Res 2017;4(6):25–32.
Fatima Z. Dengue infection in Pakistan: not an isolated problem. Lancet Infect Dis 2019;19(12): 1287-8. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30621-8.
Sulistyawati S, Surahma SAM, Sukesi TW. Understanding Community Involvement on Dengue Prevention in Sleman, Indonesia: A Free Listing Approach. J UOEH 2020;42(3):231-6. DOI:10.7888/juoeh.42.231.
Rakhmani AN, Limpanont Y, Kaewkungwal J, Okanurak K. Factors associated with dengue prevention behaviour in Lowokwaru, Malang, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 2018;18(1):619. DOI:10.1186/s12889-018-5553-z.
Murphy A, Rajahram G, Jilip J, Maluda M, William T, Hu W, et al. Incidence and epidemiological features of dengue in Sabah, Malaysia. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020;14(5):e0007504. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007504
Msellemu D, Gavana T, Ngonyani H, Mlacha YP, Chaki P, Moore SJ. Knowledge, attitudes and bite prevention practices and estimation of productivity of vector breeding sites using a Habitat Suitability Score (HSS) among households with confirmed dengue in the 2014 outbreak in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020;14(7) e0007278. DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007278.
Yousaf MZ, Siddique A, Ashfaq UA, Ali M. Scenario of dengue infection & its control in Pakistan: An update and way forward. Asian Pac J Trop Med 2018;11(1):15-23. DOI: 10.4103/1995-7645.223529.
Sabir M, Ali Y, Muhammad N. Forecasting incidence of dengue and selecting best method for prevention. J Pak Med Assoc 2018;68(9):1383-6.
Hung TM, Wills B, Clapham HE, Yacoub S, Turner HC. The uncertainty surrounding the burden of post-acute consequences of dengue infection. Trends Parasitol 2019;35(9):673-6. DOI:10.1016/j.pt.2019.06.004.
Khare RK, Powell ES, Venkatesh AK, Courtney DM. Diagnostic uncertainty and costs associated with current emergency department evaluation of low risk chest pain. Crit Pathw Cardiol 2008;7(3):191-6. DOI: 10.1097/HPC.0b013e318176faa1.
Zahir A, Ullah A, Shah M, Mussawar A. Community participation, dengue fever prevention and control practices in Swat, Pakistan. Int J MCH AIDS 2016;5(1):39-45. DOI:10.21106/ijma.68.
Siddiqui TR, Ghazal S, Bibi S, Ahmed W, Sajjad SF. Use of the health belief model for the assessment of public knowledge and household preventive practices in Karachi, Pakistan, a Dengue-Endemic City. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016;10(11):e0005129. DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005129x.
Wong LP, AbuBakar S. Health beliefs and practices related to dengue fever: a focus group study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2013;7(7): e2310. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002310.
Kumaran E, Doum D, Keo V, Sokha L, Sam BL, Chan V, et al. Dengue knowledge, attitudes and practices and their impact on community-based vector control in rural Cambodia. PLOS Negl. Trop. Dis 2018;12(2):e0006268. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006268.
Daudé É, Mazumdar S, Solanki V. Widespread fear of dengue transmission but poor practices of dengue prevention: A study in the slums of Delhi, India. PLoS ONE 2017;12(2):e0171543. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171543.
Pourhoseingholi MA, Vahedi M, Rahimzadeh M. Sample size calculation in medical studies. Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2013 Winter;6(1):14-7.
Beauro of Statistics, Government of Punjab, Lahore. Punjab Development Statistics 2016. [Accessed on: September 12, 2018]. Available from URL: http://bos.gop.pk/system/files/Dev-2016.pdf.
Mishel MH: Uncertainty in Illness Scale Manual. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina School of Nursing;1997.
Syed M, Saleem T, Syeda UR, Habib M, Zahid R, Bashir A, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding dengue fever among adults of high and low socioeconomic groups. J Pak Med Assoc 2010; 60(3):243-7.
Gunathilaka N, Chandradasa M, Champika L, Siriwardana S, Wijesooriya L. Delayed anxiety and depressive morbidity among dengue patients in a multi-ethnic urban setting: first report from Sri Lanka. Int J Ment Health Syst 2018;12:20. DOI:10.1186/s13033-018-0202-6
Hashmi AM, Butt Z, Idrees Z, Niazi M, Yousaf Z, Haider SF, et al. Anxiety and depression in patients with DF and their correlation with symptom severity. Int J Psychiat Med. 2012;44(3):199-210. DOI: 10.2190/PM.44.3.b.
Ahmed N, Taneepanichskul S. Knowledge, attitude and practice of dengue fever prevention among the people in Male, Maldives. J Health Research 2007;22(Suppl. 2008):33-7.
Khan E, Kisat M, Khan N, Nasir A, Ayub S, Hasan R. Demographic and clinical features of dengue fever in Pakistan from 2003–2007: a retrospective cross-sectional study. PloS One 2010;5(9):e12505. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012505.
Raza FA, UrRehman S, Khalid R, Ahmad J, Ashraf S, Iqbal M, Hasnain S. Demographic and clinico-epidemiological features of dengue fever in Faisalabad, Pakistan. PloS One 2014; 9(3):e89868. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112196.
Tackett AP, Cushing CC, Suorsa KI, Mullins AJ, Gamwell KL, Mayes s, et al. Illness uncertainty, global Psychological distress, and posttraumatic stress in pediatric Cancer: A preliminary examination using a path analysis approach. J Pediatr Psychol 2016;41(3):309-18. DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/jsv093.
Selvarajoo S, Liew K, Tan, W, Lim XY, Refai WF, Zaki RA, et al. Knowledge, attitude and practice on dengue prevention and dengue seroprevalence in a dengue hotspot in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study. Sci Rep 2020;10(1):9534. DOI:10.1038/s41598-020-66212-5.