Knowledge on Japanese Encephalitis Among ASHA Workers in A Coastal District of Odisha

Abstract

Introduction: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is one of the most common causes of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in many states of India. Od- isha is a major agricultural state of India. This present study was done to explore the knowledge of ASHA about JE and factors asso- ciated with their knowledge. Methodology: This cross-sectional study included 400 ASHA work- ers from different villages of Ganjam districts. Results: The mean knowledge scores of ASHA who has been in ser- vice for more than 5 years was found to be 60.88 ± 15.76. Participants obtained highest scores on the questions that addressed about breeding place, biting habits of vector and availability of vaccine in Odisha but had below average scores for questions that focused on treatment of Japanese Encephalitis. Conclusion: ASHA knowledge score to certain variables were not desirable. However, receipt of recent training in vector borne dis- eases, number of years as an ASHA significantly affected knowledge scores in good direction. Further community-based studies are recommended on this topic in Odisha.

Keywords

• Japanese Encephalitis
• ASHA
• Knowledge
• Odisha