Dengue Awareness Among Medical Students Of Public Sector Colleges, Lahore; A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Background

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Objective

Dengue is one of the most rapidly spreading viral disease transmitted by mosquito bite to human. In Pakistan, where dengue outbreaks have been a concern, increasing dengue awareness among medical students is vital. The objective of this study was to assess the current level of awareness about dengue, focusing related knowledge and practices.METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 222 fourth year medical students selected through convenient sampling from six public sector medical colleges of Lahore. All those who were present at the time of data collection and were willing to participate were included but participants with incomplete responses were excluded from study. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS version 27. A Pearson chi-square test of independence was conducted to evaluate the relationship between gender and dengue awareness scores. An independent-samples t-test was conducted to determine whether overall dengue knowledge scores differed significantly between day scholars and hostelite. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to evaluate differences in dengue awareness scores across six medical institutions in Lahore. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant scoring system was developed using all of the 27 questions of our online questionnaire, giving each correct question 1 score and incorrect as 0 score. ≥75% score considered as High level of awareness.

Results

Descriptive analysis of the 27-point dengue awareness scale showed almost identical awareness scores among male and female students. The scores in both groups ranged from 13.50 to 27.00, with an interquartile range of 4.50. For residential status, day scholars had a mean awareness score of 21.98 ± 2.81 and Hostelite had a mean score of 21.96 ± 3.26. No statistically significant association was found between gender and dengue awareness; similarly residential status was not significantly associated with dengue awareness. Although the mean awareness scores varied between institutions, ranging from 20.39 ± 4.01 at Fatima Jinnah Medical University to 23.18 ± 2.41 at Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Medical and Dental College, this difference did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion

This multi-center study demonstrated high baseline dengue awareness among undergraduate medical students across public medical colleges in Lahore. Knowledge levels were uniform across demographic subgroups, showing no statistically significant differences by gender, or residential status. Although the mean awareness scores varied between institutions, this difference did not reach statistical significance. The difference of highest percentageof high level of awareness amongst different institute's emphasis need for more comprehensive sharing of information