Dengue knowledge, attitudes and practices among university students in Guyana: A cross-sectional KAP study

Dengue fever remains an important mosquito-borne public health concern, and effective prevention depends partly on adequate knowledge, favourable attitudes, and consistent preventive practices. This study assessed dengue-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among students at a tertiary institution and examined associations between KAP scores and selected participant characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 92 participants using a structured questionnaire comprising demographic information, 13 knowledge items, 11 attitude items, and 9 practice items. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, Wilcoxon rank-sum and Kruskal-Wallis tests, with Holm adjustment for multiple comparisons. The KAP scales demonstrated acceptable to good reliability, with a KR-20 coefficient of 0.744 for knowledge and Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.824 and 0.795 for attitude and practice, respectively. Participants demonstrated strong knowledge of dengue transmission, common symptoms, mosquito breeding habitats, and environmental prevention, although gaps remained regarding Aedes mosquito biting behaviour and dengue treatment. Attitudes were generally favourable towards shared responsibility and mosquito control, but personal risk perception and willingness to participate in organized prevention activities showed greater uncertainty. Preventive practices varied, with household protective measures more consistently reported than mosquito repellent use, routine environmental inspection, and participation in clean-up activities. Knowledge was positively associated with attitude (ρ = 0.29) and practice (ρ = 0.32), whereas the attitude-practice association was weaker (ρ = 0.20). Previous dengue diagnosis was the only characteristic significantly associated with knowledge after Holm adjustment (p = 0.017). These findings support targeted, campus-based dengue education that addresses specific misconceptions and promotes the translation of knowledge and favourable attitudes into sustained preventive action.