Background: Louse- borne relapsing fever (LBRF) is an acute febrile illness caused by Borrelia recurrentis (B. recurrentis). It is transmitted by body lice, Pediculus humanus corporis (P. humanus corporis). LBRF is more prevalent in high risk populations such as prisoners, street children and yekolotemaries (traditional students of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with low levels of socio economic status and poor personal hygiene). Thus, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) among high risk populations towards LBRF prevention in Bahir Dar city. Methods: A cross- sectional survey was conducted on KAPs of high risk populations regarding LBRF from November to December, 2012. Data was collected using a standardized pre- tested closed ended questionnaire by face to face interviews to address socio demographic characteristics, KAPs and sources of information regarding LBRF prevention. The overall KAPs of the study participants were analyzed using the sum score of each outcome based on Bloom’s cut-off point (60-80%). Having a score above the cut-off point was equated with having high levels of knowledge, positive attitude and good practice. Results: Of the 407 study participants, 383 (94.1%) were males with the mean age of 31 years. Among the study participants, 243 (59.7%) had no formal education. The response rate of the participants was 98.2%. Overall, 222 (54.5%) of the study participants had low knowledge, 247(60.7%) had neutral attitude (30-39 scores out of 50 item- questions on LBRF) and 320 (78.6%) had fair practice (20-25 scores out of 32 item-questions). Prisoners had the highest knowledge, attitude and practices followed by street children and yekolotemaries towards LBRF prevention (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The overall KAPs of the high risk populations towards prevention of LBRF were poor. However, prisoners had highest level followed by street children and yekolotemaries. Moreover, the sources of information on LBRF received by the high risk populations have determined their KAP levels towards LBRF prevention. This showed that information on LBRF using television, radio and through their friends is essential to bring knowledge and attitudinal change towards LBRF prevention.
| DOI | 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13 |
| Published in | Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2014) |
| Page(s) | 15-22 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices, Louse- Borne Relapsing Fever, Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia
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APA Style
Mulat Yimer, Bayeh Abera, Wondemagegn Mulu, Belay Bezabih. (2013). Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of High Risk Populations on Louse- Borne Relapsing Fever in Bahir Dar City, North-West Ethiopia. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(1), 15-22. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13
ACS Style
Mulat Yimer; Bayeh Abera; Wondemagegn Mulu; Belay Bezabih. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of High Risk Populations on Louse- Borne Relapsing Fever in Bahir Dar City, North-West Ethiopia. Sci. J. Public Health 2013, 2(1), 15-22. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13
AMA Style
Mulat Yimer, Bayeh Abera, Wondemagegn Mulu, Belay Bezabih. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of High Risk Populations on Louse- Borne Relapsing Fever in Bahir Dar City, North-West Ethiopia. Sci J Public Health. 2013;2(1):15-22. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13,
author = {Mulat Yimer and Bayeh Abera and Wondemagegn Mulu and Belay Bezabih},
title = {Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of High Risk Populations on Louse- Borne Relapsing Fever in Bahir Dar City, North-West Ethiopia},
journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
volume = {2},
number = {1},
pages = {15-22},
doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140201.13},
abstract = {Background: Louse- borne relapsing fever (LBRF) is an acute febrile illness caused by Borrelia recurrentis (B. recurrentis). It is transmitted by body lice, Pediculus humanus corporis (P. humanus corporis). LBRF is more prevalent in high risk populations such as prisoners, street children and yekolotemaries (traditional students of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with low levels of socio economic status and poor personal hygiene). Thus, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) among high risk populations towards LBRF prevention in Bahir Dar city. Methods: A cross- sectional survey was conducted on KAPs of high risk populations regarding LBRF from November to December, 2012. Data was collected using a standardized pre- tested closed ended questionnaire by face to face interviews to address socio demographic characteristics, KAPs and sources of information regarding LBRF prevention. The overall KAPs of the study participants were analyzed using the sum score of each outcome based on Bloom’s cut-off point (60-80%). Having a score above the cut-off point was equated with having high levels of knowledge, positive attitude and good practice. Results: Of the 407 study participants, 383 (94.1%) were males with the mean age of 31 years. Among the study participants, 243 (59.7%) had no formal education. The response rate of the participants was 98.2%. Overall, 222 (54.5%) of the study participants had low knowledge, 247(60.7%) had neutral attitude (30-39 scores out of 50 item- questions on LBRF) and 320 (78.6%) had fair practice (20-25 scores out of 32 item-questions). Prisoners had the highest knowledge, attitude and practices followed by street children and yekolotemaries towards LBRF prevention (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The overall KAPs of the high risk populations towards prevention of LBRF were poor. However, prisoners had highest level followed by street children and yekolotemaries. Moreover, the sources of information on LBRF received by the high risk populations have determined their KAP levels towards LBRF prevention. This showed that information on LBRF using television, radio and through their friends is essential to bring knowledge and attitudinal change towards LBRF prevention.},
year = {2013}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of High Risk Populations on Louse- Borne Relapsing Fever in Bahir Dar City, North-West Ethiopia AU - Mulat Yimer AU - Bayeh Abera AU - Wondemagegn Mulu AU - Belay Bezabih Y1 - 2013/12/20 PY - 2013 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13 DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13 T2 - Science Journal of Public Health JF - Science Journal of Public Health JO - Science Journal of Public Health SP - 15 EP - 22 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7950 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.13 AB - Background: Louse- borne relapsing fever (LBRF) is an acute febrile illness caused by Borrelia recurrentis (B. recurrentis). It is transmitted by body lice, Pediculus humanus corporis (P. humanus corporis). LBRF is more prevalent in high risk populations such as prisoners, street children and yekolotemaries (traditional students of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with low levels of socio economic status and poor personal hygiene). Thus, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) among high risk populations towards LBRF prevention in Bahir Dar city. Methods: A cross- sectional survey was conducted on KAPs of high risk populations regarding LBRF from November to December, 2012. Data was collected using a standardized pre- tested closed ended questionnaire by face to face interviews to address socio demographic characteristics, KAPs and sources of information regarding LBRF prevention. The overall KAPs of the study participants were analyzed using the sum score of each outcome based on Bloom’s cut-off point (60-80%). Having a score above the cut-off point was equated with having high levels of knowledge, positive attitude and good practice. Results: Of the 407 study participants, 383 (94.1%) were males with the mean age of 31 years. Among the study participants, 243 (59.7%) had no formal education. The response rate of the participants was 98.2%. Overall, 222 (54.5%) of the study participants had low knowledge, 247(60.7%) had neutral attitude (30-39 scores out of 50 item- questions on LBRF) and 320 (78.6%) had fair practice (20-25 scores out of 32 item-questions). Prisoners had the highest knowledge, attitude and practices followed by street children and yekolotemaries towards LBRF prevention (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The overall KAPs of the high risk populations towards prevention of LBRF were poor. However, prisoners had highest level followed by street children and yekolotemaries. Moreover, the sources of information on LBRF received by the high risk populations have determined their KAP levels towards LBRF prevention. This showed that information on LBRF using television, radio and through their friends is essential to bring knowledge and attitudinal change towards LBRF prevention. VL - 2 IS - 1 ER -
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