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IMPACT OF EDUCATION ON KNOWLEDGE, AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, AND COMMUNITY ACTIONS FOR MOSQUITO CONTROL AND MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE PREVENTION IN RICE ECOSYSTEMS IN SRI LANKA

Mosquito-borne diseases are a major public health threat in Sri Lanka. A 20-week pilot education program to improve community knowledge and mosquito control with participatory and non-chemical approaches was developed, implemented, and evaluated using pre-educational and post-educational surveys in two intervention and two comparison villages. Correlates of baseline knowledge were sex, number of family members, ratio of family members with malaria history, school education level, and availability of electricity at the residence. Participation in the educational program led to improved knowledge of mosquito ecology and disease epidemiology, changes in agricultural practices, and an increase in environmentally sound measures for mosquito control and disease prevention. The variety of actions at the post-educational stage were determined by improved knowledge, but not by sociodemographic characteristics. Such community-based educational interventions are effective in increasing understanding and active involvement in mosquito control and disease prevention in rice ecosystems regardless of sociodemographic characteristics.

Received September 8, 2005. Accepted for publication January 11, 2006.

Acknowledgments: We are grateful to the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, especially G. W. Liyanage, G. D. Perera, A. A. George, H. P. T. Priyadarshanee, H. M. R. Sampath, T. H. de Silva, and H. U. K Dayani, for its effort in conducting the education program and in assisting with the data collection; D. M. Gunawardena (Anti-Malaria Campaign) for providing advice on research structure and survey questionnaires; and Hector B. Senerath for translation and data entry. We also thank Henk van den Berg for helping us build network with local key people. We heartily thank all the farmers who participated in the study.

Financial support: The research, including the implementation of the education program, data collection, entry, and analyses, was supported by the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development. The education program was partially supported by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.

^* Address correspondence to Junko Yasuoka, Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: jyasuoka{at}post.harvard.edu

Authors’ addresses: Junko Yasuoka and Richard Levins, Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, Telephone: 617-432-1484, Fax: 617-566-0365, E-mails: jyasuoka{at}post.harvard.edu and humaneco{at}hsph.harvard.edu. Thomas W. Mangione, Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, E-mail: tmangion{at}hsph.harvard.edu. Andrew Spielman, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, E-mail: aspielma{at}hsph.harvard.edu.

Reprint requests: Junko Yasuoka, Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.