美国纽约长岛居民预防蜱虫叮咬和控制蜱虫的知识、态度及行为
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices for tick bite prevention and tick control among residents of Long Island, New York, USA.
作者信息
Cuadera Mervin Keith Q, Mader Emily M, Safi Amelia Greiner, Harrington Laura C
机构信息
Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, Department of Entomology, Cornell University, 3138 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States.
Department of Public & Ecosystem Health, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853, United States; Department of Communication, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 United States.
出版信息
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2023 May;14(3):102124. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102124. Epub 2023 Jan 18.
In the United States, tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a major public health concern and a source of significant morbidity. To reduce tick-borne disease incidence, understanding factors associated with increased risk in humans for tick bites is necessary. These risk factors can include TBD knowledge, attitudes about prevention and care, and associated practices of individuals and their communities, including paying for preventive services. Our study focused on Long Island, New York, a region with high endemicity of ticks and TBDs. The purpose of our study was to identify gaps in the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding TBDs in residents of this region to inform priorities for TBD interventions. To this end, we performed a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey and collected 803 responses from Long Island residents. Our survey results demonstrated that Long Island residents had a low to moderate level of knowledge regarding ticks and TBDs. Still, residents expressed concern regarding TBDs, with increased levels of concern associated with increased likelihood of paying for tick control and for practicing tick bite prevention strategies. Individuals with pets were more likely to practice these tick bite prevention strategies. Residents with more frequent exposure to ticks, with a history of TBD in their household, and with higher general concern over ticks were also more likely to pay for tick control services. These findings highlight gaps in resident knowledge, differences in attitudes towards tick preventative behavior, and potential factors affecting motivation towards implementing tick control measures, which can inform future public health messaging regarding tick bite prevention.
在美国,蜱传疾病(TBDs)是主要的公共卫生问题和重大发病原因。为降低蜱传疾病的发病率,有必要了解与人类蜱叮咬风险增加相关的因素。这些风险因素可能包括蜱传疾病知识、对预防和护理的态度,以及个人及其社区的相关行为,包括支付预防服务费用。我们的研究聚焦于纽约长岛,这是一个蜱虫和蜱传疾病高流行地区。我们研究的目的是确定该地区居民在蜱传疾病知识、态度和行为方面的差距,为蜱传疾病干预的重点提供依据。为此,我们开展了一项知识、态度和行为(KAP)调查,并收集了803份长岛居民的回复。我们的调查结果表明,长岛居民对蜱虫和蜱传疾病的了解程度较低至中等。尽管如此,居民对蜱传疾病表示担忧,担忧程度的增加与支付蜱虫控制费用和采取蜱叮咬预防策略的可能性增加相关。有宠物的人更有可能采取这些蜱叮咬预防策略。蜱虫接触频率更高、家庭中有蜱传疾病病史且对蜱虫总体担忧程度更高的居民,也更有可能支付蜱虫控制服务费用。这些发现凸显了居民知识方面的差距、对蜱虫预防行为态度的差异,以及影响实施蜱虫控制措施积极性的潜在因素,可为未来关于蜱叮咬预防的公共卫生宣传提供参考。