Philippine E-Journals

Leptospirosis has been recognized as an emerging global public health problem because of its increasing incidence in both developing and developed countries. This study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge of leptospirosis among residents of flood-prone areas in Davao City. Further, this study determined the preventive measures undertaken by these residents and assessed whether these measures can be attributed to their knowledge on the disease and to their demographic profile. The researchers used the descriptive- correlation design and utilized three hundred fifteen randomly selected residents to answer a validated three-part Survey Questionnaire. Pearson product moment coefficient of correlation and Chi-Square were used to determine the relationship between the respondents’ knowledge on leptospirosis, demographic profile and their preventive measures. Findings revealed that the respondents have a moderate level of knowledge on leptospirosis but have a high level of preventive measures against it and that there is a significant relationship between these two variables. Further, the study revealed that among the demographic variables, only educational attainment is significantly associated to the respondents’ level of knowledge on leptospirosis. Moreover, analysis revealed that sex, socio-economic status and length of stay in the area are significantly associated to the respondents’ preventive measures against leptospirosis.