A Study to Assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Swine Flu.

Abstract

Aims & Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding swine flu among rural population of Kollam district, Kerala. Materials and methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in March 2013 in the area around Azeezia Medical College, Meeyannoor (Dist. Kollam, Kerala). A total of 250 participants were included in the study by conventional sampling method from the 5 nearby villages. Results: A common symptom of Swine flu such as fever was known to 71.40% while cough and cold were known to 62.40% of the respondents. Other symptoms such as myalgia and headache were known to 39.40% and 27.70% of the participants respectively of them had heard of Swine flu and were aware of it as a disease entity. Knowledge regarding the route of transmission was concerned 4.69% thought that swine flu spread by eating contaminated pork, 23.92% through food and water, 8.44% through mosquito bite and house flies. 56.33% were aware of the fact that swine flu could spread by inhaling infected aerosols. Availability of treatment and vaccine against swine flu were known to 56.80 % and 55.86% respectively. Mass media (TV, Radio, newspaper) was found to be the most common source of knowledge regarding swine flu for 74.18 % of the respondents. Conclusions: Knowledge regarding swine flu was average among study population. TV, news channels and newspaper was found to be the most common source of information. Lack of awareness regarding key focus areas like hand washing as a preventive measure is of serious concern.