[Exploration study of knowledge and attitudes related to prevention and transmission of dengue in Puerto Rico in...

We got one of the most significant epidemics of the history of Dengue in Puerto Rico despite all major educational efforts made. The objective is to determine how much knowledge the people have about the prevention and transmission of Dengue virus. We administered a questionnaire of fifteen questions to 140 people of different communities at the metropolitan area as well as in the East area of Puerto Rico during the months of September to November of 2012. 88% were adults, 100 were women and 40 men. The majority was from Caguas, Carolina, San Juan, and Bayamon. 60% were professionals. One hundred percent knew what Dengue is and 90% knows the mosquito. 77% of the participants know the actual epidemics, but the men got a 10% higher knowledge than women on the subject. Around 47% are not prepared to fight the Dengue virus, but they have great knowledge about the preventive measures and the clinical Management of Dengue Syndrome. 66% did not know that Puerto Rico has a Dengue Center from the CDC located at the Island. Only 17.5% of the participants knows that the Dengue Virus can be transmitted through transfusion of blood components. Our study met our objectives showing that we have good knowledge about Dengue, but there is poor knowledge about the transmission of Dengue Virus through transfusion of blood components. There is a big necessity to develop community strategies to eliminate this disease. We recommend repeating this study with more collaboration from other entities, more questions, and more participants.