Prevalence of heat-related illnesses and some factors related to knowledge, attitude, and practice among farmers in Thua Thien Hue province in 2020

Abstract

This study aims to determine the prevalence of heat-related illnesses among farmers in Thua Thien Hue province and some factors related to knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among farmers in Thua Thien Hue province. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was conducted on 831 farmers in Thua Thien Hue province using a structural questionnaire from June 2020 to May 2021. The prevalence of farmers who have acquired heat-related illnesses accounted for 46.5%, in which the most common disease found was sunstroke/ heatstroke, accounting for 40.1%. Percentages of people who had suffcient knowledge, attitude, or practice of heat-related illnesses were 43.4%, 66.5%, and 48.6%, respectively. Factors that were signifcantly related to the knowledge of heat-related illnesses were age group, educational background, and history of seeking the illness treatment. Factors related to the attitude towards the prevention of heatrelated illnesses included history of seeking the illness treatment. Factors related to the practice of preventing heat-related illnesses in the study subjects included age group, economic status, and history of seeking the illness treatment (p < 0.05). The prevalence of farmers who had heatrelated illnesses during the last 12 months was still high, whilst the proportion of farmers who had suffcient knowledge, attitude, and practice about these illnesses among the research subjects were still relatively low. It needs to intensify the implementation of appropriate health education activities to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices on heatrelated illnesses prevention among farmers.