Level of awareness of parents of Chikungunya infected children about Chikungunya in a tertiary level hospital

Background: Chikungunya is a viral disease in humans caused by the bite of mosquitoes. Chikungunya and dengue fever are closely related as they share common symptoms and are often mistreated. Even though the symptoms are almost alike the excruciating arthritic pain is a typical manifestation of Chikungunya infection. The disease also has long term effect on musculoskeletal system causing crippling arthritis in most of the people.

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to assess the level of awareness about Chikungunya among the parents of Chikungunya infected children in a tertiary level hospital. The specific objective was to assess knowledge and attitude of the parents about Chikungunya and to find the socio-demographic factors associated with the level of awareness.

Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Square Hospital Ltd., Dhaka in order to assess the level of awareness about Chikungunya among the parents of Chikungunya infected children. This survey included parents of 150 children diagnosed as Chikungunya. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was applied. Face to face questioning method was used to collect data from the parents related to their socio-demographic and awareness related factors. Data was compiled in a pre-structured questionnaire and was analyzed in SPSS version 19.

Results:Among the studied population, the level of 

awareness was good in 23.3%, moderate in 24.7% and poor in 52%. Most (86.0%) of the respondents knew about joint pain as a common symptom and 79.3% knew about the mode of transmission of Chikungunya.

Conclusions: This study revealed that the level of awareness about Chikungunya was poor among the parents of Chikungunya infected children.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2019; 48(3): 221-225