OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention to induce changes in behavior to eliminate breeding places for the dengue vector in families from a community in the Municipality of Sincelejo, Colombia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An educational intervention type was performed before and after, with a group of 54 families selected by convenience sampling. An educational program designed with the results of a knowledge test, a semi-structured interview, observation guide and the main concepts of the Communication for Behavioural Impact (COMBI) toolkit was applied. The impact was measured by proportion changes and the McNemar test. RESULTS: Post-intervention changes were made in the levels of inadequate knowledge about dengue and behavior of the vector from 14.8% to 3.7% (p=0.109), in their inadequate beliefs from 20.4% to 5.6% (p=0.008) and in adequate practices from 24 to 87% (p=0.001). At the end of the process with each of the participant groups, 64.8% were classified in the action stage. There was a reduction of the number of intradomiciliary Aedes breeding places from 92.6% to 35.2% (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The intervention lead participants to adhere to the behavior changes that were promoted. It was useful to subdivide the population into those who apply preventive measures and those who only have the intention of making them, because this enables the health personnel to adopt actions according to the characteristics of each group.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention to induce changes in behavior to eliminate breeding places for the dengue vector in families from a community in the Municipality of Sincelejo, Colombia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An educational intervention type was performed before and after, with a group of 54 families selected by convenience sampling. An educational program designed with the results of a knowledge test, a semi-structured interview, observation guide and the main concepts of the Communication for Behavioural Impact (COMBI) toolkit was applied. The impact was measured by proportion changes and the McNemar test. RESULTS: Post-intervention changes were made in the levels of inadequate knowledge about dengue and behavior of the vector from 14.8% to 3.7% (p=0.109), in their inadequate beliefs from 20.4% to 5.6% (p=0.008) and in adequate practices from 24 to 87% (p=0.001). At the end of the process with each of the participant groups, 64.8% were classified in the action stage. There was a reduction of the number of intradomiciliary Aedes breeding places from 92.6% to 35.2% (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The intervention lead participants to adhere to the behavior changes that were promoted. It was useful to subdivide the population into those who apply preventive measures and those who only have the intention of making them, because this enables the health personnel to adopt actions according to the characteristics of each group.