Awareness and Preventive Practice on Kala-Azar among the Community People of Morang, Nepal

Background According to World Health Organization, an estimated 700000 to 1 million new cases and 26000 to 65000 deaths occur annually from Kala-azar. In the countries of South-East Asia region, Kala-azar occurs mainly in three countries- India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The disease occurs in agricultural villages where houses are frequently constructed with mud walls. Even people residing in endemic areas have poor practices for its prevention. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 community people of Katahari Gaupalika, Morang. Simple Random sampling technique was used for the selection of three wards among seven wards, probability proportionate was used for the selection of the population from the ward. The desired sample was selected purposively. Data were collected from face-to-face interview techniques using a structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS 16 version. Results It is found that nearly two-thirds of the respondents (63.3%) had moderate awareness, more than one-fifth (22%) of the respondents had adequate awareness while (14.7%) of the respondents had inadequate awareness of Kala-azar. Similarly, more than half (55.3%) had moderate preventive practice, (25.3%) had inadequate preventive practice and nearly one-fifth (19.3%) had adequate preventive practice. The mean score for awareness and practice was 16.633 and 5.54 respectively. Conclusion The study was conducted to assess the level of awareness of Kala-azar. This concluded moderate awareness of respondents on Kala-azar which suggested that there is still a need to improve the awareness of the respondents particularly on its causative agent, preventive measures and complication. However, to improve their awareness to an adequate level, awareness-raising programs focusing on preventive practice should be conducted.