Background: Dengue is the most common among all the arthropod-borne viral diseases and a major public health problem in Sri Lanka. Because there is no vaccine, great emphasis is placed on control and preventive measures. The study was conducted to identify the level of knowledge and practices regarding preventive measures of dengue fever among hospitalized patients in Infectious Disease Hospital, Sri Lanka.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through simple random sampling; and a structured questionnaire was interviewer-administered for Three hundred and six (306) hospitalized patients.

Results: More than half of the participants (52%) were presented with dengue fever. They had high (46%) level of knowledge on dengue fever and its preventive measures (Mean= 11.03, SD= 1.767). Nevertheless, a majority (88%) had poor level of practice in prevention (Mean= 10.05, SD= 2.718). Ninety percent of them could recognize that dengue is preventable. Television and radio were the predominant sources of information. Eliminating standing water collection sites was the most prevalent (96%) preventive practice. There was significant positive association between the level of knowledge and level of preventive practices (p=0.030).

Conclusion: Good knowledge about dengue fever, did not translate to adoption of preventive practices. The participants demonstrated gaps in knowledge and level of preventive practices. It indicates the value of education programmes as a tool in dengue prevention. Future campaigns should focus on educating and encouraging the community to adopt simple, inexpensive preventive methods. This would help to eliminate dengue in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Dengue fever, prevention, knowledge, practices, Sri Lanka

Biography:
Miss Jayasinghe was a talented, smart student in her undergraduate period, who performed very well in her curricular and extra-curricular activities. Since October 2015, she is working as a demonstrator in Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Her research interest is Community health nursing.