Knowledge,behaviors and skills relating to infectious diseases among 1335 elderly residents in the suburbs of Beijing

Objective To understand situation on knowledge,behaviors and skills relating to infectious diseases among the elderly in the suburbs of Beijing,to provide reference for infectious diseases prevention.Methods1 335 residents aged over 60 years were recruited using three-stage systematic sampling.The information on knowledge,behaviors and skills about infectious diseases among the elderly was collected by using a self-designed questionnaire .ResultsMost of awareness rates of knowledge relating to infectious diseases were less than 35.4%,such asthe definition of fever,the transmission of hepatitis B,hepatitis A or HIV;Most of behavior rates relating to infectious diseases were less than 47.2%,such as use of face mask at fever clinics,pick up raw meat with special chopsticks,influenza vaccination in 2010;All the rates of skills relating to infectious diseases were less than 53.2%.Most rates of knowledge,behaviors,and skills relating to infectious diseases were increasing with the education levels(P0.05).ConclusionsThe findings suggested that the elderly in the suburbs were short of knowledge,good behaviors and skills relating to infectious diseases,and more measures should be taken to improve their knowledge,behaviors and skills.