Original Research Article Uprety S et al PERCEPTION REGARDING SWINE FLU AMONG SCHOOL TEACHER IN INARUWA MUNICIPALITY OF EASTERN NEPAL Uprety S1*, Limbu NPM2, Poudel M3, Ghimire A4, Khanal VK1, Baral DD5 ABSTRACT Affiliation 1. Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Community Introducon Medicine, BPKIHS, Dharan Swine flu is an acute respiratory viral disease, caused by a 2. Lecturer, Department of Community Health, Patan Academy strain of the influenza type A virus known as H1N1. Currently of Health Sciences, Lalitpur swine flu is spreading rapidly in India with a regular threat of it 3. Additional Professor, Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, BPKIHS, Dharan being spread to Nepal owing to the open borders. 4. Professor, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Objecve BPKIHS, Dharan The objecve of this study was to assess the knowledge, 5. Assistant Professor, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, BPKIHS, Dharan atude and pracce on different aspects of Swine Flu. Methodology This is cross-seconal study conducted in Inaruwa municipality A R T I C L E I N F O of Sunsari district from 1 March to 10 April, 2015. A total of Article History 31 schools (21 private and 10 public) were idenfied in the Received : 06 February, 2017 municipality out of which 16 were randomly chosen for the Accepted : 18 July, 2017 study. Published : 30 August, 2017 Results © Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first Total sample size was 260 school teachers. Majority of the publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License CC - BY 4.0 that allows respondents belong to the age group 30-39 years, about 72 % others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the were male and 86% thought that it is a preventable disease. It work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. was observed that females had a beer atude towards prevenve measures of swine flu as compared to the males (p<0.023), but males had beer pracces as compared to the females (p<0.001). ORA 22 Conclusion The prevenon pracce for swine flu was not adequate. * Corresponding Author Despite having acceptable knowledge and atude, posive Dr Samyog Uprety pracces needs to be encouraged. The teachers should be Associate Professor well informed about the earliest appearing symptoms of School of Public Health and Community Medicine swine flu. So that they can closely monitor the students and B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal Email: [email protected] can recommend the students for medical checkup on appearance of the symptoms. Citation KEYWORDS Uprety S, Limbu NPM, Poudel M, Ghimire A, Khanal VK, Baral DD. Atude, Nepal, Sunsari, swine flu Perception Regarding Swine Flu Among School Teacher in Inaruwa Municipality of Eastern Nepal. BJHS 2017;2 (2)3 : 150-155 Birat Journal of Health Sciences ISSN: 2542-2758 (Print) 2542-2804 (Online) Vol.2/No.2/Issue 3/ May-August 2017 150 Original Research Article Uprety S et al INTRODUCTION combat it, ways of prevenon were also studied. Each Swine flu is an acute respiratory viral disease, caused by a parcipant was asked to report the precauonary measures strain of the influenza type A virus known as H1N1, where H that s/he has been using during the epidemic to prevent 1 and N stand for two surface proteins of the virus. The illness infecon, maintaining personal hygiene extra care be taken is generally mild except in people in high risk groups as for suspected case. Data collecon was done via direct face- pregnant women and people with medical condions like to-face interview using semi-structured quesonnaire at 2 infecon with other influenza viruses. Swine flu was school premises aer taking permission from the head- reported in Mexico and spread over the world. The union teacher and obtaining informed consent with respecve agency reported more than 15,000 cases of swine flu in the teachers (All the school teachers were included in the study 3 globe. The Mexico had second highest number of infecons ll the sample size was fulfill), prior study pretesng was nearly 5000 behind the united states of America with nearly done in 10% sample in Dharan, reliability test was performed 3 8000 cases. Worldwide there was more than 375, 000 and 60% cut off value was establish, using quesons directed laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 in at accessing knowledge, atude, pracces, and demographic 2009 and thousands deaths reported to world health variables. Regarding knowledge, atude and pracces 41, 4 organisaon (WHO). 11 and 62 score was made respecvely and 60% cut of value According to Rubin GJ et al regarding public percepons was taken for acceptable limit so 25 (24.6 in knowledge); 7 about swine flu, respondents have percepon that swine flu (6.6 in atude) and 38 (37.2 in pracces) were the lower is severe, that the risk of catching is high, that the outbreak value considered respecvely. Data was entered in Microso 5 will connue for a long me. In another study by Joseph TF Excel 2007 and analysed using SPSS 11.5 version. Descripve et al about widespread public misconcepon in the early stascs as percentage, proporon, mean, standard phase of the H1N1 influenza epidemic done in Hongkong deviaon, were calculated along with graphical and tabular China, it was seen that public did not perceive a high presentaon. As a part of inferenal stascs, correlaon likelihood of having a local H1N1 outbreak, nor did they 6 between the demographic variables and knowledge, atude regard H1N1 as a threatening diseases. A study done by and pracces, and one-way ANOVA test for the group Akan H et al in Turkey about the knowledge and atudes variables was applied to find out the significant associaon at among the university students toward pandemic influenza 95% confidence interval. showed that the parcipants had enough knowledge about H1N1 pandemic, about the disease there were sll gaps and RESULTS confusion in some areas and main informaon source was Table 1 shows the socio-demographic profile of the study 7 mass media. Nepal has open borders with neighboring populaon, in which majority were from 30-39 years of age countries specially with India so has always threat of followed by 20-29 years, male populaon were predominant spreading Swine flu. Out of the 300 samples collected from than female and majority were Hindu by religion. Similarly, suspected cases across the country, a total of 42 paents st 8 while observing by ethnicity most of them were Brahmin have been tested posive for H1N1, as of 1 March 2015. (38%) and Madhesi (31%), and about 51% were working in Thus, awareness is needed for its effecve prevenon. This study was conducted, keeping school teachers as our target Table 1: Socio-demographic profile of study populaon (n = 260) populaon, as they are the foci for knowledge and can give Characteriscs Category Number Percentage the informaon regarding swine flu to the children. Age (Years) <20 14 5.4 METHODOLOGY 20 – 29 72 27.7 30 – 39 74 28.5 A cross-seconal study was conducted in Inaruwa 40 – 49 57 21.9 Municipality, Eastern Nepal among school teachers of both 50+ 43 16.5 government and private schools from 1 March to 10 April Gender Male 187 71.9 2015. A total of 31 schools, including 21 private and 10 public Female 73 28.1 were idenfied in the municipality, out of which 16 were Religion Hindu 213 81.5 randomly chosen for the study. Among 16 schools, 8 were Muslim 47 18.1 public schools and 8 were private. For the sample size Occupaon duraon <10 133 51.2 calculaon, the informaon of a study conducted by Singh in years 10 -19 72 27.7 AB et al in India was considered where the proporon of 20 and above 55 21.2 knowledge of swine flu among school teachers was about Ethnicity Brahman/Chhetri 99 38.1 60% with 95% confidence interval and 80% power, total Madhesi 81 31.2 sample size was 260 school teachers.9 Knowledge about the Muslim 46 17.7 disease, mode of transmission, source of infecon, routes of Janja–terai 16 6.2 transmission, atudes and percepons of the disease were Janja – hill 15 5.8 asked and its communicability, governmental efforts to Dalit – hill 3 1.5 Birat Journal of Health Sciences 151 Vol.2/No.2/Issue 3/ May-August 2017 ISSN: 2542-2758 (Print) 2542-2804 (Online) Original Research Article Uprety S et al According to table 2, while most teachers were well aware of When we asked about the source of transmission of swine flu basic aspects of swine flu but only 37% could tell swine flu is (Figure 2), most of them expressed that it can be transmied also known as H1N1, 65% could tell that swine flu is viral in by infected person (77%) and consuming pork meat (34%) origin, 86% thought that it is a preventable disease and 93% and some also told that vector like mosquitoes (14%) can agreed that face mask could help in the prevenon. transmit the swine flu. Table 2: Knowledge about swine flu in the study populaon (n = 260) Characteriscs Opons/answers Number Percentage Heard about swine flu? Yes 260 100 What is the other name of swine flu? Bird flu/H5N1 34 13 H1N1 97 37.3 H2N2 2 0.8 SARS 1 0.4 Don't know 126 48.1 What is the Causave agent for swine flu? Bacteria 20 7.7 Parasites 10 3.8 Viruses 170 65.4 Don't know 60 23.1 Is breast-feeding protecve against swine flu? Yes 110 42.3 No 70 26.9 Don't know 103 39.6 Availability of vaccine against swine flu? Yes 87 33.3 No 70 26.9 Don't know 103 39.6 Is Prevenon possible? Yes 224 86.2 No 20 7.7 Don't know 16 6.2 Any role of facemask in controlling infecon Yes 242 93.1 No 11 4.2 Don't know 7 2.7 Is isolaon necessary? Yes 215 82.7 No 45 17.3 Most of them received informaon from Radio/TV (84%) Figure 2: Distribuon of respondents according to source of followed by newspapers (63%).