Knowledge, attitudes and practices of dengue prevention in users of health institutions in the department of Atlantico.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66615/j70k0t28Keywords:
Dengue; Disease prevention; Knowledge; Attitudes; Health practices; Health education.Abstract
Objective: To determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding dengue prevention among users of health institutions in the department of Atlántico, Colombia. The research was conducted between September and December 2024 in three health institutions located in endemic areas of the department. Method: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 353 participants selected for convenience. Data collection was carried out using a structured questionnaire consisting of 18 questions distributed across three dimensions: knowledge (6 items), attitudes (8 items), and practices (4 items), in addition to a sociodemographic form. The instrument was previously validated and applied with informed consent. The data were processed in Excel and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The results showed that the majority of participants were women (69.53%), with technical or secondary education, belonging to socioeconomic stratum 1. In terms of knowledge, 44.19% identified dengue as a mosquito bite, although confusion persisted about symptoms and forms of transmission. Attitudes reflected low community participation and poor perception of leadership in preventive campaigns. The most frequent practices were tank washing and the elimination of standing water, although other measures such as the use of repellent or mosquito nets were less common. Conclusion: It is concluded that, although basic knowledge about dengue exists, gaps in attitudes and preventive practices persist, highlighting the need to strengthen educational and community strategies in public health.
Downloads
References
Alcaldía de Barranquilla. (2025). Distrito recomienda tomar medidas preventivas contra el mosquito transmisor del dengue. https://barranquilla.gov.co/salud/distrito-recomienda-tomar-medidas-preventivas-contra-el-mosquito-transmisor-del-dengue
Benavides Melo, J. A., Montenegro Coral, F. A., Rojas Caraballo, J. V., & Lucero Coral, N. J. (2021). Caracterización sociodemográfica y clínica de pacientes diagnosticados con dengue y chikungunya en Nariño, Colombia. Revista Cubana de Medicina Tropical, 73(1), 1–15.
Benítez-Díaz L, Díaz-Quijano FA, Martínez-Vega RA. (2020). Experiencia y percepción del riesgo asociados a conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre dengue en Riohacha, Colombia. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 25(3):1137–46. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232020253.08592018
Gobernación del Atlántico. (2025). Refuerzan cerco sanitario contra el dengue en Soledad. https://www.atlantico.gov.co/index.php/noticias/salud-prensa/25767-gobernacion-del-atlantico-refuerza-cerco-sanitario-contra-el-dengue-en-soledad
Hernández-Cristancho, L., & Salamanca-Ramos, E. (2023). Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas respecto al dengue en familias de la comuna uno, Villavicencio – Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Sociales. 14(1), pp. 238-253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21501/22161201.3867
Hernández Escolar, J., Consuegra Mayor, C., & Herazo Beltrán, Y. (2014). Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre dengue en un barrio de la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias. Revista de Salud Pública, 16(2), 281–292. https://doi.org/10.15446/rsap.v16n2.43464
Instituto Nacional de Salud. (2025). Boletín epidemiológico de dengue. https://www.fomag.gov.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Boleti%CC%81n-de-salud-dengue.pdf
Mateus Escobar DA, Monroy-Díaz AL, Jaimes-Bernal CP. (2023). Dengue en Barbosa (Santander, Colombia): conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas en la comunidad. Rev Cubana Med Trop. 75(1). Disponible en: http://www.scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0375-07602023000100008
Ministerio de Salud de Colombia. (1993). Resolución 8430 de 1993: Por la cual se establecen las normas científicas, técnicas y administrativas para la investigación en salud. https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Normatividad_Nuevo/RESOLUCION%208430%20DE%201993.pdf
Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social. (2022).Guía para la prevención del dengue. Bogotá: MinSalud.
Mohamed, R. A. E. H., Khan, Y., Alzahrani, K. J., Alzahrani, F. M., Alsharif, K. F., Khan, A., Noor, F., Qadeer, A., Lin, G. B., & Chen, C. C. (2025). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding dengue and its vectors among medical professionals: A cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 15, 1560054. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1560054
Nieto Villaseñor P, Andrade Mafla JF, Colcha Valdivieso MC, Andrade Oyarvide CA, Galarza González EL, Fernández Zajia LM. (2023).Dengue: actualidades, características clínicas epidemiológica y prevención. Rev Sanitaria de Investigación. P1-8.
Oliveros-Villanueva, L., Pardo-Yepes, A., & Parra-Henao, G. (2023). Evaluación de los conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas para la prevención y control del dengue en el distrito de Santa Marta [Tesis de especialización, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia]. Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. https://repository.ucc.edu.co/handle/20.500.12494/49687
Ortiz, C., Rúa Uribe, G. L., & Rojas, C. A. (2018). Conocimientos, prácticas y aspectos entomológicos del dengue en Medellín, Colombia: Un estudio comparativo entre barrios con alta y baja incidencia. Biomédica, 38, 106–116. https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v38i0.3957
Pan American Health Organization. (2023, April 3). La OPS alerta sobre el riesgo de brotes de dengue por la circulación del serotipo DENV 3 en las Américas. https://www.paho.org/es/noticias/3-4-2023-ops-alerta-sobre-riesgo-brotes-dengue-por-circulacion-del-serotipo-denv-3
Salamanca-Ramos E, León Alfonso GA, Baquero Álvarez N. (2025). Percepción familiar sobre el impacto del Dengue: Conocimientos, Actitudes y Prácticas. Enferm. glob 24 ( 75 ): 634711. Disponible en: http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1695-61412025000100003&lng=es. Epub 12-mayo-2025. https://dx.doi.org/106018/eglobal.634711.
Sánchez Bolívar, M., Girón Domínguez, K., Navas Villareal, N., Montaño Ayala, M. A., Gómez Castillo, K. P., Dávila Amaris, L. A., et al. (2024). Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre el dengue en población escolar de un municipio al norte de Colombia. Revista Cubana de Medicina Tropical, 76. https://revmedtropical.sld.cu/index.php/medtropical/article/view/1203
Sarmiento-Senior D, Matiz MI, Jaramillo-Gómez JF, Olano VA, Vargas SL, Alexander N, et al. (2019).Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre dengue en estudiantes de escuelas rurales de un área endémica en Colombia. Biomed. 39(3):478-90. Disponible en: https://revistabiomedica.org/index.php/biomedica/article/view/4255
Valencia, N. N., Ortega, J. E., & Cordero, A. (2024). Relación de los conocimientos, prácticas y participación en la prevención del dengue con los factores individuales y del contexto en el departamento de Córdoba, Colombia. Revista de la Universidad Industrial de Santander. Salud, 56.
Valencia-Jiménez J, Rodríguez-Moreno A, Pérez-González M. (2023). Empoderamiento familiar en la prevención del dengue en Córdoba. Rev Salud Pública. 25(2):112-120.
World Health Organization. (2021). Dengue and severe dengue. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue
World Health Organization. (2023). Dengue – Global situation. https://www.who.int/health-topics/dengue
World Health Organization. (2023). Situación mundial del dengue 2023. https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2023-DON478
World Health Organization. (2024). Dengue and severe dengue: Factsheet. https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fa
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
At Nexus House Editorial, we ensure the long-term preservation of all published articles through reliable and up-to-date technological strategies. Our journal is part of the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), an international network that guarantees the integrity and continuous access of content through a distributed backup system. We also perform regular internal backups, which strengthens the protection and availability of digital files. Thanks to these actions, even in scenarios where the journal or publisher ceases operations, the content will remain accessible to researchers and readers around the world.Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Cindy Vanessa Hoyos Angulo, Rosa del Socorro Morales Aguilar, Gloria Elena Lastre Amell , Doris María Castro Colon, Meira Inés Señas Martínez (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Nexus (MIR) is an open-access journal. All of its content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
This license allows third parties to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author and the journal, and that a link to the license is included. The full version of the license can be consulted at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es
