Dengue Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Arizona Health Care Providers, 2014-2015

Irene Ruberto, Hayley Yaglom, Laura M. Erhart, Lydia Plante, Joli Weiss, Catherine Golenko, Mariana Casal, Orion McCotter, Laura Adams, Kacey Ernst, Ken Komatsu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Detection of local dengue transmission requires an aware and engaged medical community, as health care providers are the front line of public health surveillance. To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice about dengue, an online survey was distributed among Arizona health care providers during 2014 and 2015. Materials and Methods: The survey consisted of a total of 10 knowledge, attitude, and practice questions divided as follows: 5 knowledge questions, 2 attitude questions, and 3 practice questions. The link to the Qualtrics survey was distributed through the Arizona Health Alert Network to a total of 4582 e-mail addresses, of which 335 participants opened the survey, and 196 completed and submitted their responses. Results: Less than half the respondents reported choosing the right dengue diagnostic test (40.4%) or understanding the epidemiology of dengue in Arizona (40.9%). Slightly more than half the respondents reported frequently asking for travel history (59%), and three-fourth of them would notify the local health department on suspicion of a dengue patient (76.1%). Survey score was associated with providers specialized in infectious diseases (1.88, 95% CI: 0.42-3.33, p = 0.01), medical doctors or doctors of osteopathic medicine (1.82, 95% CI: 0.98-2.65, p < 0.0001), and respondents who reported to have heard about the increase in dengue cases in Sonora (Mexico) in fall 2014 (1.51, 95% CI: 0.67-2.34, p = 0.0005), indicating better survey performance. Conclusions: These results indicate that education for health care providers on dengue should be improved particularly among general practice noninfectious disease providers who might be the first point of care for dengue patients. Findings suggest that additional training on clinical management, asking travel history, and notifying the local health department on suspicion of a dengue patient are needed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)434-440
Number of pages7
JournalVector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
Volume19
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2019

Keywords

  • Arizona
  • Mexico
  • arboviral diseases
  • dengue
  • knowledge

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Virology

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