title: Community perspectives on dengue transmission in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The recurrence of dengue has become a growing public health threat. This research examines the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and practice of local community members regarding dengue transmission in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It also investigates explanatory demographic and socioeconomic factors that affect community knowledge, beliefs and practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  In July-August 2011, a random sample of household heads or alternatives (n=300) was surveyed in 12 wards of Dhaka. This survey was supplemented by 12 focus group discussions (n=107) and 18 key informant interviews in three selected wards.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most community members had heard about dengue (91.3%; 274/300) and knew (93.7%; 281/300) that mosquitoes act as the primary vector of its transmission. In contrast, most (87.3%; 262/300) was unaware that Aedes mosquitoes prefer to lay their eggs in water containers. Multivariate logistic regression modeling revealed that the respondents in age group 45-60 years were 2.83 times more likely to have positive attitudes towards undertaking precautionary measures to prevent dengue than the respondents aged <25 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings confirm the presence in local communities of misconceptions and considerable knowledge gaps about dengue transmission that could be improved by formulating interventions targeting specific subgroups of the population.
authors: Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, 70 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2 National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3E 3R2.
authors: Parnali
authors: P
authors: Dhar-Chowdhury
authors: Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, 70 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2 haquece@cc.umanitoba.ca.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Emdad Haque
authors: Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3E 0W3.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Michelle Driedger
authors: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3B 2E9.
authors: Shakhawat
authors: S
authors: Hossain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001459:Bangladesh; D002947:Cities; D003715:Dengue / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009032:Mosquito Control; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aedes mosquitoes; Bangladesh; Dengue; Local community; Public health; Water containers