Knowledge of chikungunya and mosquito avoidance and control practices among newly admitted students at an offshore medical University in the Caribbean
Objective To assess knowledge of chikungunya and the pattern of implementation of mosquito avoidance and control practices among new students admitted to Trinity Medical Sciences University (TMSU), St. Vincent and the Grenadines Methods A cross sectional study was conducted, where a pilot tested questionnaire was surveyed among all newly admitted students for a period of one year. The participants who were aware of the disease were included in the knowledge score analysis. Knowledge level of each participant was determined to be good (score ≥ 70%), fair (score 50.1–69.9%) or poor (score ≤ 50%). The study also evaluated the participants’ implementation of WHO-recommended mosquito avoidance and control practices. Results Among the 129 students surveyed, 102 participants responded (response rate: 79.06%). Of 102 participants, only 39 (38.2%) were aware of the disease with 30.77% having good knowledge, 28.21% fair knowledge and 41.03% poor knowledge of the disease. Of the eight mosquito avoidance and control practices evaluated, none were implemented by 2 (1.96%) of the participants while one or more, but not all, were used by the remaining 100 (98.04%) participants. The association of these practices with awareness of the disease as well as levels of knowledge was statistically non-significant (P>0.05). Conclusion A large percentage of newly admitted students at TMSU did not have adequate knowledge of chikungunya. However, implementation pattern of mosquito avoidance and control practices varied among them. The new students need early education about the disease and should be encouraged to practice as many recommended strategies as possible to avoid mosquito bites and control of mosquito vectors.