Haniff Shaniza, Shive Gowda Ashwin, Sharma Manoj, Baskin Carole
Internal Medicine, University at Buffalo, New York, USA.
Neurology, Royal Stoke University Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, GBR.
Cureus. 2023 Nov 6;15(11):e48357. doi: 10.7759/cureus.48357. eCollection 2023 Nov.
Background Dengue infection (DI) continues to rise in the Caribbean. Children are primarily affected by severe infection in this region. Parents thus play an essential role in identifying symptoms, seeking medical care, and preventing DI in their children. Grenada has been endemic to DI since 1956, and to date, no study has assessed the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among parents regarding DI. Objective To determine the level of parents' KAP and associated sociodemographic factors regarding DI in children in Grenada. Methods A quantitative cross-sectional study of 360 randomly selected parents attending postnatal and child-health clinics was conducted in Grenada. Parents completed a validated survey on demographic information and KAP regarding DI from September to December 2019. KAP scores were calculated and categorized as adequate or inadequate based on the percentage of correctly answered questions on the survey. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to determine the level of KAP and associated sociodemographic factors among parents. Results Only 33.9% of parents had adequate knowledge regarding DI, which was independently associated with gender (p-value: 0.001, CI: 1.688-7.411), age (p-value: 0.001, CI: 0.037-0.443), occupation, education, and marital status. Nevertheless, most parents had a positive attitude toward DI prevention (56.4%) and practiced adequate prevention (73%) against DI. Higher education was independently associated with a positive attitude toward DI prevention (p-value: 0.013, CI: 0.190-0.825). However, no sociodemographic factors were associated with the prevention practices of DI. Conclusion This study revealed a low level of knowledge among parents, despite an adequate attitude and level of prevention against DI in Grenada. It identified specific groups, such as young, single parents of low educational status, as potential targets for educational campaigns to reduce DI-associated morbidity and mortality among Grenadian children.
登革热感染（DI）在加勒比地区持续上升。该地区儿童主要受到严重感染的影响。因此，父母在识别症状、寻求医疗护理以及预防子女感染登革热方面发挥着至关重要的作用。自1956年以来，格林纳达一直存在登革热地方病，迄今为止，尚无研究评估父母对登革热的知识、态度和行为（KAP）水平。目的：确定格林纳达父母对儿童登革热的KAP水平及相关社会人口学因素。方法：在格林纳达对360名随机选择的到产后和儿童健康诊所就诊的父母进行了一项定量横断面研究。父母们在2019年9月至12月期间完成了一份关于人口统计信息和登革热KAP的有效调查问卷。计算KAP得分，并根据调查问卷上正确回答问题的百分比将其分为充足或不足。采用卡方检验和逻辑回归分析来确定父母的KAP水平及相关社会人口学因素。结果：只有33.9%的父母对登革热有足够的了解，这与性别（p值：0.001，CI：1.688 - 7.411）、年龄（p值：0.001，CI：0.037 - 0.443）、职业、教育程度和婚姻状况独立相关。然而，大多数父母对登革热预防持积极态度（56.4%），并且采取了充分的预防措施（73%）来预防登革热。高等教育与对登革热预防的积极态度独立相关（p值：0.013，CI：0.190 - 0.825）。然而，没有社会人口学因素与登革热的预防措施相关。结论：本研究表明，尽管格林纳达父母对登革热的态度和预防水平充足，但他们的知识水平较低。研究确定了特定群体，如年轻、教育程度低的单亲父母，作为开展教育活动以降低格林纳达儿童登革热相关发病率和死亡率的潜在目标人群。
