Abstract

Background: The upsurge in the incidence of dengue cases shows that there is still need to increase the level of awareness,in the public about vector-borne diseases especially the dengue fever (DF). Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA’s),are one among the key instruments for achieving this goal.
Objective: The objective of the study was to find out the,knowledge and practice of ASHA workers regarding dengue.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted,during July–August 2016 in Bengaluru urban district which has 571 ASHA workers. By population probability sampling,and simple random method, 166 ASHA selected. Data collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. X2 test,and descriptive statistics analyzed using SPSS (17.0).
Results: Mean age of the ASHA’s 33.4 ± 6.63 years. Majority of,the ASHA was aware of the characteristics symptoms of the DF 160 (96.4%), only 51 (30.7%) were known of the danger,signs of DF. 101 (60.8%) of ASHA’s were not aware of self-protective measures, 140 (84.3%) were aware of partial control,measures, ASHA’s who had work experience of >2 years and with higher education had higher knowledge of danger,signs and control measures and practice about the dengue. About 68.7% of ASHA’s received the good response by the,community, whereas 24.1% and 43.4% of ASHA’s were encountered the problems of lack of community participation,and rejection for the preventive measures. Conclusion: Training is the backbone of capacity building and functioning of,ASHAs. Monitoring should be made an integral part of ASHA working in the field to ensure that knowledge is converted,into practices as well.