Sally Furniss
Well-known member
From the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases 2008 pg 91 http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/14/3/ICEID2008.pdf
Board 23. A School-Based Health Promotion Project for Mosquito-Borne Disease Prevention in Children
A. D. LaBeaud, A. Glinka, C. H. King; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
Background:
Children are at high risk for mosquito-borne disease exposure because they spend large amounts of time outdoors and often do not wear protective clothing or mosquito repellent. Our objective was to assess whether a school-based educational intervention focused on mosquito bite prevention and mosquito-borne disease, particularly West Nile virus (WNV), was able to: 1) improve WNV-related knowledge, 2) change WNV related attitudes, 3) maintain these improvements, and 4) promote personal protective behaviors (PPBs) among participants and their families.
Methods:
A single one-hour session was evaluated for its ability to improve mosquito and WNV knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among elementary school students in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. A 4th grade cohort was randomized to ?case? and ?control? classrooms. ?Cases? learned about mosquito safety and PPBs through a modified CDC ?Neato Mosquito? (NM) program. ?Controls? learned about tobacco prevention through the AAFP ?Tar Wars? (TW) program. Pre- and post-intervention KAP surveys were compared to assess immediate KAP changes. Follow-up surveys, administered after the summer break 5-6 months later, assessed long-term KAP changes.
Results:
345 students participated: 181 in NM and 164 in TW. 242 students completed follow-up testing: 123 in NM and 119 in TW. Age, gender, and baseline knowledge scores were equivalent between arms. Immediate post-test knowledge scores increased significantly, and remained significantly higher at follow-up in NM vs. TW (p<0.001). Post-intervention attitude scores showed increased fear of WNV, but this fear was not retained at follow-up testing. Follow-up behavior scores increased significantly in reported PPBs among NM participants, but not TW (p=0.03). Increased discussion about mosquito-borne diseases between NM participants and their families was reported (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
Immediate and long-term improvements in WNV-related knowledge resulted from our intervention. Importantly, significant increases in PPBs and discussion about mosquito-borne diseases were reported among NM participants. School-based educational interventions can play a significant role in promoting mosquito-bite prevention and can serve as an effective tool to communicate public health information to children.
Board 23. A School-Based Health Promotion Project for Mosquito-Borne Disease Prevention in Children
A. D. LaBeaud, A. Glinka, C. H. King; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
Background:
Children are at high risk for mosquito-borne disease exposure because they spend large amounts of time outdoors and often do not wear protective clothing or mosquito repellent. Our objective was to assess whether a school-based educational intervention focused on mosquito bite prevention and mosquito-borne disease, particularly West Nile virus (WNV), was able to: 1) improve WNV-related knowledge, 2) change WNV related attitudes, 3) maintain these improvements, and 4) promote personal protective behaviors (PPBs) among participants and their families.
Methods:
A single one-hour session was evaluated for its ability to improve mosquito and WNV knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among elementary school students in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. A 4th grade cohort was randomized to ?case? and ?control? classrooms. ?Cases? learned about mosquito safety and PPBs through a modified CDC ?Neato Mosquito? (NM) program. ?Controls? learned about tobacco prevention through the AAFP ?Tar Wars? (TW) program. Pre- and post-intervention KAP surveys were compared to assess immediate KAP changes. Follow-up surveys, administered after the summer break 5-6 months later, assessed long-term KAP changes.
Results:
345 students participated: 181 in NM and 164 in TW. 242 students completed follow-up testing: 123 in NM and 119 in TW. Age, gender, and baseline knowledge scores were equivalent between arms. Immediate post-test knowledge scores increased significantly, and remained significantly higher at follow-up in NM vs. TW (p<0.001). Post-intervention attitude scores showed increased fear of WNV, but this fear was not retained at follow-up testing. Follow-up behavior scores increased significantly in reported PPBs among NM participants, but not TW (p=0.03). Increased discussion about mosquito-borne diseases between NM participants and their families was reported (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
Immediate and long-term improvements in WNV-related knowledge resulted from our intervention. Importantly, significant increases in PPBs and discussion about mosquito-borne diseases were reported among NM participants. School-based educational interventions can play a significant role in promoting mosquito-bite prevention and can serve as an effective tool to communicate public health information to children.