PMID- 30388737 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20190226 LR - 20190226 IS - 1660-4601 (Electronic) IS - 1661-7827 (Print) IS - 1660-4601 (Linking) VI - 15 IP - 11 DP - 2018 Nov 1 TI - Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Health Beliefs toward Leptospirosis among Urban and Rural Communities in Northeastern Malaysia. LID - 10.3390/ijerph15112425 [doi] LID - 2425 AB - BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with a worldwide distribution, especially in developing countries such as Malaysia. This study was designed to explore the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices (KABP) toward leptospirosis among the communities in northeastern Malaysia and to determine the sociodemographic factors associated with the KABP toward leptospirosis. A cross-sectional study using a stratified sampling method was conducted among 214 individuals in four locales in northeastern Malaysia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 214 respondents in northeastern Malaysia using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method. The study population was divided into two groups based on geographical locations: urban and rural. All data were entered and analyzed using the IBM Statistics for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 software for Windows (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). The continuous variables were presented using mean and standard deviation (SD), whereas the categorical variables were described using frequency and percentage. Multiple logistic regression was performed to determine the associated factors for good KABP toward leptospirosis among the respondents. RESULTS: It was found that 52.8% of respondents had good knowledge, 84.6% had positive attitudes, 59.8% had positive beliefs, and 53.7% had satisfactory practices. There were no significant sociodemographic factors associated with knowledge and practice, except for educational status, which was significant in the attitude and belief domains. Those with higher education exhibited better attitudes (Odds Ratio (OR) 3.329; 95% Coefficient Interval (CI): 1.140, 9.723; p = 0.028) and beliefs (OR 3.748; 95% CI: 1.485, 9.459; p = 0.005). The communities in northeastern Malaysia generally have good knowledge and a high level of positive attitude; however, this attitude cannot be transformed into practice as the number of people with satisfactory practice habits is much lower compared to those with positive attitudes. As for the belief domain, the communities must have positive beliefs to perceive the threat of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our current health program on preventing leptospirosis is good in creating awareness and a positive attitude among the communities, but is not sufficient in promoting satisfactory practice habits. In conclusion, more attention needs to be paid to promoting satisfactory practice habits among the communities, as they already possess good knowledge and positive attitudes and beliefs. FAU - A, Pathman AU - A P AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-8584-2025 AD - Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. pathman_19@hotmail.com. FAU - Bd, Aziah AU - Bd A AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-2706-1175 AD - Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. aziahkb@usm.my. FAU - Wm, Zahiruddin AU - Wm Z AD - Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. drzahir@usm.my. FAU - S, Mohd Nazri AU - S MN AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-7023-9717 AD - Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. drnazri@usm.my. FAU - S, Sukeri AU - S S AD - Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. surianti@usm.my. FAU - Tj, Tengku Zetty AU - Tj TZ AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-8269-5699 AD - Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia. tengkuzetty@upm.edu.my. FAU - Ra, Hamat AU - Ra H AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-6288-3791 AD - Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia. rukman@upm.edu.my. FAU - O, Malina AU - O M AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-5591-3315 AD - Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia. malinaosman@upm.edu.my. FAU - I, Norazlin AU - I N AD - Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. norazlin@usm.my. FAU - I, Zawaha AU - I Z AD - Health Promotion Unit, Penang State Health Department, Floor 7, Bangunan Persekutuan, Jalan Anson, 10400 Penang, Malaysia. hjhzawaha@yahoo.com. FAU - Aw, Zainudin AU - Aw Z AD - Health Department of Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Jalan Cenderasari, Kuala Lumpur 50590, Malaysia. zwah58@gmail.com. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20181101 PL - Switzerland TA - Int J Environ Res Public Health JT - International journal of environmental research and public health JID - 101238455 SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Animals MH - Cross-Sectional Studies MH - Female MH - *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice MH - Humans MH - Leptospirosis/*prevention & control/*psychology MH - Malaysia/epidemiology MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - Odds Ratio MH - Rural Population/*statistics & numerical data MH - Socioeconomic Factors MH - Urban Population/*statistics & numerical data MH - Zoonoses/*prevention & control/*psychology PMC - PMC6266327 OTO - NOTNLM OT - attitude OT - belief OT - knowledge OT - leptospirosis OT - practice OT - rural OT - urban COIS- The authors declare no conflicts of interest. EDAT- 2018/11/06 06:00 MHDA- 2019/02/27 06:00 PMCR- 2018/11/01 CRDT- 2018/11/04 06:00 PHST- 2018/10/01 00:00 [received] PHST- 2018/10/21 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2018/10/25 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2018/11/04 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2018/11/06 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2019/02/27 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2018/11/01 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - ijerph15112425 [pii] AID - ijerph-15-02425 [pii] AID - 10.3390/ijerph15112425 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Nov 1;15(11):2425. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15112425.