Factors related to dengue fever prevention behavior in Thung Song Subdistrict, Na Bon District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.

Abstract

This research aimed to study the level of dengue fever prevention behaviors and to examine the relationships between personal factors, knowledge about dengue fever, perception of dengue fever, and dengue fever prevention behaviors in Thung Song Subdistrict, Nabon District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample consisted of 331 household heads calculated using the Krejcie and Morgan table. The research instrument was a questionnaire that passed content validity testing and reliability testing with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.78, consisting of 4 parts: general information, knowledge about dengue fever, perception of dengue fever based on the Health Belief Model, and dengue fever prevention behaviors. Data were collected between August and September 2025 and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficient.

The results showed that most samples were female (67.67%), with a mean age of 54.09 years, primary education level (43.81%), household income of 5,001-10,000 baht per month (49.85%), and engaged in agriculture (64.95%). Regarding the level of prevention behaviors, it was found that samples had high-level behaviors (48.34%), moderate-level (45.02%), and low-level (6.34%). Correlation analysis revealed that factors significantly related to prevention behaviors at the 0.001 level were perceived susceptibility to disease and perceived barriers to disease prevention, both with correlation coefficients of 0.18, indicating a low positive relationship. Age, knowledge about dengue fever, perceived severity of disease, and perceived benefits of disease prevention showed no statistically significant relationships. Based on the findings, it is recommended that public health agencies develop behavior promotion programs emphasizing increased risk perception through disease situation presentations, mosquito breeding site survey activities, and addressing barriers such as providing abate sand and establishing community funds to support mosquito prevention equipment. Special attention should be given to groups with low-level behaviors through home visits and individualized counseling. Future research should study other factors such as social support and community leaders' roles, conduct qualitative studies for deeper understanding, and develop intervention programs to evaluate long-term effectiveness.