A comprehensive scoping review of global educational strategies and outcomes in aedes-borne disease control.

BACKGROUND

Aedes mosquito is the primary vector of emerging or re-emerging arboviruses that threaten public health worldwide. Many efforts have been made to develop interventions to control the Aedes mosquito. This scoping review was conducted to identify the nature and scope of educational interventions to prevent and control diseases transmitted through the Aedes mosquito. The findings can be used to evaluate, compare, and develop appropriate control strategies.

METHODS

The present scoping review was conducted in 2023 and used Arksey and O'Malley's approach, which involves five key stages. To search for academic papers, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and ScienceDirect databases were used with a combination of keywords about Aedes mosquitoes, educational interventions, and disease prevention and control. The search was not limited by the publication date, yet only included studies published in English. Studies were included that reported the educational interventions about Aedes mosquito control at the community or organizational level. The screening of papers was done based on the PRISMA-ScR guideline. Excel 2019 was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Initially, 3,172 papers were extracted, and after screenings and reviews, a total number of 45 final papers were selected. The studies focused on educational interventions. Twenty interventional studies were at the organizational level and 25 at the community level. The latter was the most commonly used strategy. Interventions using educational approaches have achieved sustainable results. Out of the forty-five studies, twenty-one were assessed to have a low risk of bias.

CONCLUSIONS

The present scoping review evaluates the effectiveness of educational interventions at various community levels for controlling Aedes-borne diseases, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary collaboration. Controlling Aedes mosquitoes using education and attracting the community's participation is an effective approach to reduce diseases transmitted through Aedes. The development of education at different levels of the community, such as educational and occupational environments, can play a role in the effectiveness of societal education and can be more cost-effective. Maintaining the effect of this approach is challenging because it requires multi-sector and multidisciplinary team participation and active community engagement over the long term. Further research is required to explore the removal of barriers to the implementation of educational interventions and the consistency of effects.