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Effect of Dengue Fever Awareness on Preventive Practices among Residents of Urban Communities in Nigeria

Abstract

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection that represents an emerging public health concern in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is primarily transmitted through the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes, which can breed in artificial water containers commonly found around households and communities. Preventive practices such as eliminating stagnant water, covering water-storage containers, maintaining environmental sanitation, using mosquito repellents, wearing protective clothing, and reducing mosquito breeding sites are important for limiting dengue transmission. Awareness of dengue fever can influence individuals' understanding of its causes, modes of transmission, symptoms, risk factors, and available prevention measures and may encourage adoption of appropriate protective behaviours. In Nigeria, mosquito-borne diseases remain an important public health concern, while awareness of dengue fever may be relatively limited compared with more commonly recognized mosquito-borne diseases. Rapid urbanization, inadequate drainage, poor waste management, water-storage practices, population density, and environmental conditions may create favourable breeding environments for Aedes mosquitoes in urban communities. These conditions highlight the importance of community-level awareness and preventive practices for reducing the potential risk of dengue transmission. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of dengue fever awareness on preventive practices among residents of urban communities in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model (HBM), Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) framework, and Social Ecological Model. The Health Belief Model explains preventive health behaviour through individuals' perceptions of disease susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits of preventive actions, and perceived barriers to adopting those actions. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how awareness and knowledge of dengue fever may influence attitudes and preventive practices. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes that preventive behaviours are influenced by interacting individual, household, community, environmental, and institutional factors. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a comprehensive framework for explaining how dengue fever awareness may influence preventive practices among residents of urban communities in Nigeria. The study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional research design. Primary data will be collected from adult residents of selected urban communities in Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, urban communities, households, and eligible respondents. Dengue fever awareness will be measured using respondents' knowledge of dengue fever, its mosquito vector, modes of transmission, symptoms, risk factors, complications, prevention methods, and appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour. Preventive practices will be assessed using elimination of stagnant water, proper disposal of containers and waste, covering of water-storage containers, use of mosquito repellents, use of protective clothing, household environmental sanitation, mosquito-control measures, and other recommended practices for reducing exposure to Aedes mosquitoes. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize respondents' sociodemographic characteristics, levels of dengue awareness, and preventive practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis, will be employed to determine the effect of dengue fever awareness on preventive practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess multicollinearity, model specification, goodness of fit, and the robustness of the estimated relationships. The study anticipates that dengue fever awareness will have a significant positive effect on preventive practices among residents of urban communities in Nigeria. Residents with higher levels of awareness are expected to demonstrate better understanding of dengue transmission and greater adoption of practices designed to reduce mosquito breeding and exposure. Increased awareness may encourage residents to remove stagnant water, properly dispose of containers, cover water-storage vessels, improve household sanitation, use mosquito repellents, and adopt other protective measures. However, awareness alone may not guarantee consistent preventive behaviour. Residents may face practical barriers such as inadequate waste collection, poor drainage systems, unreliable water supply, limited access to mosquito-control products, overcrowding, and insufficient community-level environmental management. Consequently, effective dengue prevention requires not only health education but also supportive environmental conditions, reliable municipal services, community participation, and sustained vector-control activities. This study is expected to contribute to the literature on vector-borne disease prevention, environmental health, health education, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between dengue fever awareness and preventive practices among urban residents. The findings will provide useful information for the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), state ministries of health, local government health authorities, environmental health departments, public health practitioners, community health workers, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening dengue prevention and community preparedness. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for improving dengue health education, strengthening community-based vector-control programmes, promoting environmental sanitation, improving waste and water management, reducing mosquito breeding sites, and increasing public awareness of dengue fever and appropriate preventive practices in Nigerian urban communities.

Keywords: Dengue fever awareness, preventive practices, dengue prevention, Aedes mosquitoes, vector control, urban communities, environmental sanitation, health education, mosquito-borne disease, Nigeria.