Knowledge,attitude & perception of dengue among first year medical students

Aims: to see knowledge,attitudes and practices (kap) of freshly admitted first year mbbs students about dengue fever. study design: descriptive cross-sectional study place & duration of study: lahore medical & dental college,lahore over a period of two weeks material & methods: 134 students registered in first year mbbs,academic year 2011/2012. data was collected using a structured pretested questionnaire. data was entered and cleaned in spss 19 statistical package. data was presented in the form of tables and graphs. results: it was observed that few respondents knew that there are four types of dengue fever,quite a good number knew about the causative agent. the incubation period was well known by the students. the vector of the disease is known by good number; however half of the students rightly named the species as aedes aegypti. regarding the time of transmission of disease students were cognizant that it was mostly early dawn and students were well aware of the fact that the breeding places of female aedes aegypti mosquitoes is stagnant water sites. knowledge of respondents regarding the clinical picture,complications and diagnosis of dengue fever are also having high percentages. conclusion: medical students had the highest ability to gain knowledge and it can be reflected in changing practices. changes in knowledge were greater than changes in practice which reflects the fact that these changes take more time and need sustained education. closing the gap between knowledge and practice will remain an important challenge for dengue control,as well as defining dynamic targets for reduction of ae. aegypti populations.