Effect of mass media educational intervention during the 2005 cholera epidemic in Iran

Background: Cholera is a bacterial infection that causes both local outbreaks and worldwide pandemics. There was a cholera epidemic in Iran in summer 2005, during which 1118 individuals were infected and 11 died. The present study was conducted to determine the impact of educational activities of Iranian Ministry of Health on the peopleʹs knowledge and attitude towards the disease. Patients and methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on 240 subjects. Samples were selected by cluster sampling in Yazd, Iran. Data were collected by a prepared questionnaire and analyzed by student t- test and chi square, when appropriate. Results: Mean scores of subjectʹs awareness before and after outbreak were 4.5 and 10.5, respectively (p < 0.05). Only 33% of subjects knew cholera as a transmittable disease, however, following the intervention, the respected percentage reached up to 99.5%. Conclusion: Our study showed that few people were aware of cholera, however, their awareness improved significantly following the education. Therefore, effective continuous educations should be attempted, especially through mass media, in order to reduce the health and economic impacts of endemic diseases.