Knowledge and preventive measures on arbovirus infections among university students in an endemic area of Peru
Keywords:
arbovirus infection, knowledge, preventive measures, fever, dengue, zika, chikungunya, studentsAbstract
Introduction: arbovirus infections are a serious health problem in Peru. Higher population awareness and their participation in preventive activities can minimize their impact.
Objective: assessment on the level of knowledge and its relationship with preventive measures concerning arbovirus infections in university students in an endemic area of Peru, September to November 2020.
Method: an observational, cross-sectional, correlational and non-experimental design study was carried out. The population consisted of 325 medical technology students and the sample consisted of 176 students of both sexes. The level of knowledge was categorized as deficient, regular and high. Preventive measures were classified as adequate and inadequate. The questionnaire contained 23 multiple-choice questions, validated by expert judgment.
Results: the knowledge level in 69.9% of the students was fair, and inadequate preventive measures were observed in 44.3%. The 92.0% of surveyed personnel considered the arbovirus infection as a serious disease, but only 10.2% recognized the warning sign of zika. The main preventive measures were: fumigation (50.6%) and the use of repellents (49.6%). In addition, 92.6% of students considered as an important action the act to eliminate mosquito breeding sites in order to prevent the spread of infection. However, only 51.1% checked for the presence of breeding sites and cleaned their homes on a daily and inter-daily basis (43.8%).
Conclusions: the level of knowledge was regular and was related to inadequate preventive measures such as not frequently checking for the presence of mosquito breeding sites and not cleaning houses.
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References
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