Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2024
Abstract
Background Globally, 390 million dengue virus infections occur per year. In Malaysia, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to dengue fever (DF) due to mosquito breeding sites exposure and poor health literacy. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) assess the current DF knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP), and (ii) identify strategies to promote DF awareness, among migrant workers in Klang Valley. Method A survey was conducted with 403 Nepali, Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers through phone interviews and online self-administered questionnaires. Piecewise structural equation modelling was applied to identify predictor variables for DF KAP. Results Most respondents were male, working in the services industry, had completed high school, aged between 30-39 years and with less than ten years work experience in Malaysia. Overall, respondents' knowledge was positively correlated with attitude but negatively with practices. Older respondents, who had completed higher education, obtained higher knowledge scores. Similarly, those with working experience of >20 years in Malaysia obtained higher attitude scores. Respondents with a previous history of DF strongly considered the removal of mosquito breeding sites as their own responsibility, hence tended to frequently practise DF preventive measures. Respondents' knowledge was also positively correlated to their understanding of DF information sourced from social media platforms. Conclusion These findings highlighted: (i) the need for targeted DF educational intervention among younger and newly arrived workers with lower levels of education and (ii) maximising the usage of social media platforms to improve DF public awareness.
Keywords
Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Early ACL Reconstruction, Meniscal Tears, Quadriceps Strength, Cartilage Injuries, Chondral Lesions, Muscle Strength, Knee, Surgery, Rehabilitation
Divisions
InstituteofBiologicalSciences,tidrec
Funders
Ministry of Education, Malaysia (MO002- 2019),Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM) for the Community Fund (PV008-2020)
Publication Title
PLoS ONE
Volume
19
Issue
2
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Publisher Location
1160 BATTERY STREET, STE 100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111 USA