Climate change and dengue fever knowledge, attitudes and practices in Bangladesh: a social media-based cross-sectional survey

Background: Bangladesh experienced its worst dengue fever (DF) outbreak in 2019. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among university students in Bangladesh and significant factors associated with their prevention practices related to climate change and DF. Methods: A social media-based (Facebook) cross-sectional KAP survey was conducted and secondary data of reported DF cases in 2019 extracted. Logistic regression and spatial analysis were run to examine the data. Results: Of 1500 respondents, 76% believed that climate change can affect DF transmission. However, participants reported good climate change knowledge (76.7%), attitudes (87.9%) and practices (39.1%). The corresponding figures for DF were knowledge (47.9%), attitudes (80.3%) and practices (25.9%). Good knowledge and attitudes were significantly associated with good climate change adaptation or mitigation practices (p<0.05). Good knowledge, attitudes and previous DF experiences were also found to be significantly associated with good DF prevention practices (p<0.001). There was no significant positive correlation between climate change and DF KAP scores and the number of DF cases. Conclusions: Findings from this study provide baseline data that can be used to promote educational campaigns and intervention programs focusing on climate change adaptation and mitigation and effective DF prevention strategies among various communities in Bangladesh and similar dengue-endemic countries.