Health behaviour and its relationship with the risk of getting dengue fever at the district of Temerloh Pahang Darul Makmur; a case control study, 1999

Abstract

Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever infections are common infectious diseases in Malaysia, which caust'S mortality and morbidity and thus losses in teml of economics to the individuals and the country .No satisfactory outcomes has been gained from various prevention and control programmes with multiple strategies. Health behaviour is recognized to be one of the causes for the increase risk of getting the disease. In order to identify the specific health behaviour for future interventions, a matched 1: 1 case control study was conducted at the District of Temerloh Pahang Darul Makmur in June 1999. The factors studied were the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding prevention and control, treatment, law enforcement and level of awareness of the danger caused by Dengue/Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever. Cases were selected from the registration data available at the Temerloh's Health Office with confinned diagnosis starting from the period 1st of January to 31st of December 1998. Whilst the controls were those who were never diagnosed to have DF/DHF and free from the signs and symptoms of the disease until the 31st. of December 1998. Sixty seven pairs of case and control were surveyed. The univariate analysis showed that agreeable to mosquito net usage (p=0.00), agreeable to blood taking (p=0.00), agreeable to stay longer in hospital if complications arise(p=0.00), allowing sick family members to be warded (p=0.03), letting blood to be tested (p=0.001 ). sending sick family members to hospital (p=0.003), aware of the danger of Dengue fever (p=0.039), agreeable that DF must be known by everybody regardless of their disease status (p=0.027), mosquito coil usage (p=0.02), cleaning water containers (p=0.03) and breeding larvae (p=0.03) were factors significantly related to the risk of getting DF/DHF. The multivariate analysis narrowed down the predictors of getting DF/DHF to only agreeable to blood taking (p=0.02), agreeable to mosquito net usage (p=0.03), agreeable to stay longer in hospital if complications arise (p=0.03) and lastly allowing sick family members to be warded (p=0.01). On conclusion, there is a relationship between bad health behaviour and increase risk of getting dengue fever.