TITLE:
Unsatisfactory Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Leptospirosis among Army Personnel’s in Northeastern Malaysia
AUTHORS:
Siti Sara Y., Aziah B. D., Azwany Y. N., Mohd Nazri S., Zahiruddin W. M., Nabilah A., Siti Asma’ H., Zaliha I.
KEYWORDS:
Army Personnel, Leptospirosis, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.12 No.3,
March
31,
2020
ABSTRACT: Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease caused by infection of the bacteria belongs to Genus leptospira. It occurs in tropical, subtropical and temperate zones. It is also known as occupational-related disease as certain occupations are associated with the occurrence of leptospirosis. Army is identified as one of the high-risk occupations in contracting leptospirosis. This study was done to determine knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among army personnel on leptospirosis. A cross sectional study was conducted among 616 army personnel in four based camps in Northeastern Malaysia, who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A validated KAP questionnaire was used, consisting of knowledge, attitude and practice questions. More than half (52.8%) of the respondents had poor knowledge score. For the attitude score, almost the same proportions had satisfactory attitude. The same finding was seen in practice score, whereby those with good practice (54.9%) and bad practice (45.9%). In conclusion, the finding showed that almost all army personnel had unsatisfactory KAP, thus, it is recommended for the army to have a good health education program on leptospirosis among army personnel to protect the army personnel from risk of getting leptospirosis.