Knowledge, attitudes and practices with regard to dengue fever among travelers in Taiwan

Objectives: Dengue fever is endemic in Southeast Asia - the most popular business and travel destination for people from Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between knowledge and attitude about Dengue fever and preventive behaviors of travelers. Method: This was a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was developed based on the KAP (knowledge, attitudes and practices) model. Participants who were over 18 years of age and headed to a Southeast Asian country completed a self-administrated survey at the departure gates at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Results: In total, 386 travelers completed the questionnaires, for a response rate of 90.6%. The percentage of individuals with correct knowledge about the prevention of Dengue fever was 68.5%, the attitude towards Dengue fever prevention was positive (average 3.87 points), and 74.9% of the passengers had prepared at least one method to protect themselves from mosquito bites. Women, those with higher education, and those passengers who had received health information from travel clinics had better knowledge about and attitudes toward Dengue fever, and also practiced better personal preventive behaviors. Conclusions: Information about Dengue fever needs to be distributed through diverse methods, i.e. travel clinics, mass media, and print material, in order to encourage travelers heading to Southeast Asian countries to practice preventive behaviors.