Action Research to Enhance Health Literacy on Dengue Fever Prevention in Nong Trud Subdistrict, Mueang District, Trang Province

Abstract

This action research aimed to study the situation and outcomes of enhancing health literacy  in dengue fever prevention among the public. To study the situation and assess health literacy, the target group consisted of 266 household representatives, selected specifically, each of whom had at least one container with Aedes mosquito larvae. Of these, 85 people voluntarily participated in health literacy enhancement activities conducted from September to December 2019. Data were collected through observation and interviews. The research tools included a personal information questionnaire, a health literacy assessment, and an index for Aedes larvae, comprising the House Index (HI) and Container Index (CI). The validity of the tool (CVI) was .87, and the reliability of the questionnaire was KR-20 with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of .84 and .97, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Paired t-test. The research results showed as follows.

1. The majority of the population had low to moderate levels of health literacy regarding dengue fever prevention, with 80.45% in low to moderate levels and only 19.55% in high levels. Barriers to health literacy in dengue fever prevention included personal factors such as education level and occupation. Supporting factors included personnel from the Tambon Nong Trud Health Promoting Hospital and a strong team of village health volunteers.The technical advice was      provided by the Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Trang, with continuous annual budget support   from the Universal Health Coverage Fund of the Nong Trud Subdistrict Administrative Organization.

2. After participating in health literacy enhancement activities, it was found that: 1) participants could access various sources of information and received more information (Obtain) 2) post-activity knowledge scores were higher than pre-activity scores (Understand) 3) participants showed improved decision-making abilities in controlling and preventing dengue fever (Decide), and 4) participants could apply their knowledge to modify behaviors to control mosquito-breeding sites (Apply). One month after the activities, there were no reported HI, CI indices, or dengue cases.

Therefore, proactive measures should be implemented to cover all households, particularly those with moderate literacy levels and mosquito breeding sites, to effectively control and prevent dengue fever in the area.