Parents' Level of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices and Associated Sociodemographic Factors Regarding Dengue Infection in Children

Background Dengue infection (DI) continues to rise in the Caribbean. Children are primarily affected by severe infection in this region. Parents thus play an essential role in identifying symptoms, seeking medical care, and preventing DI in their children. Grenada has been endemic to DI since 1956, and to date, no study has assessed the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among parents regarding DI. Objective To determine the level of parents' KAP and associated sociodemographic factors regarding DI in children in Grenada. Methods A quantitative cross-sectional study of 360 randomly selected parents attending postnatal and child-health clinics was conducted in Grenada. Parents completed a validated survey on demographic information and KAP regarding DI from September to December 2019. KAP scores were calculated and categorized as adequate or inadequate based on the percentage of correctly answered questions on the survey. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to determine the level of KAP and associated sociodemographic factors among parents. Results Only 33.9% of parents had adequate knowledge regarding DI, which was independently associated with gender (p-value: 0.001, CI: 1.688-7.411), age (p-value: 0.001, CI: 0.037-0.443), occupation, education, and marital status. Nevertheless, most parents had a positive attitude toward DI prevention (56.4%) and practiced adequate prevention (73%) against DI. Higher education was independently associated with a positive attitude toward DI prevention (p-value: 0.013, CI: 0.190-0.825). However, no sociodemographic factors were associated with the prevention practices of DI. Conclusion This study revealed a low level of knowledge among parents, despite an adequate attitude and level of prevention against DI in Grenada. It identified specific groups, such as young, single parents of low educational status, as potential targets for educational campaigns to reduce DI-associated morbidity and mortality among Grenadian children.