Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Aug 21;24(1):2270. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19811-0.
Parasitic zoonoses are infections transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans, posing serious public health risks and significant economic consequences. The study aimed at assessing government workers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding zoonotic parasites of pet animals in Ethiopia's central Gondar zone.
A cross-sectional study was carried out in selected towns of Central Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia from January 2022 to August 2022. Four hundred randomly selected government employees participated in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaire administered by face-to-face interview. The chi-squared (χ2) was calculated for association and p-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant.
A 57.25% of respondents were males and 42.75% were females. Most of the respondents, 67.5%, had completed college/university education. About 60% of the respondents had 'high knowledge', 57.25% had 'positive attitude', and 73% had 'good practice' regarding pet animals as a source of zoonotic parasites. The chi-square analysis revealed a significant discrepancy (p < 0.05) between knowledge with sex, educational level, and position in the house. The attitude level was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with educational level, religious view, and service year. Significant association was also observed (p < 0.05) between practice level of the respondents and educational level and marital status. The study also showed a significant association between knowledge and attitude (χ2 = 40.4, p ≤ 0.001), knowledge and practice (χ2 = 34.9, p ≤ 0.001), and attitude and practice (χ2 = 12.76, p = 0.013) of the respondents.
Although our results revealed that more than half of the participants had good knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding zoonotic parasites of pet animals, enhanced routine hygienic practices and regular awareness creation programs are recommended to bridge existing gaps.
寄生虫病是在脊椎动物和人类之间传播的传染病，对公共健康构成严重威胁，并造成重大经济后果。本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚中央贡德尔地区政府工作人员对宠物动物的动物源性寄生虫的知识、态度和实践（KAP）。
本研究为 2022 年 1 月至 8 月在埃塞俄比亚西北部贡德尔中心区的选定城镇进行的横断面研究。400 名随机选择的政府工作人员参与了这项研究。通过面对面访谈，使用半结构化问卷收集数据。采用卡方（χ2）检验进行关联性分析，p 值小于 0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
57.25%的受访者为男性，42.75%为女性。大多数受访者（67.5%）完成了大学/大学教育。约 60%的受访者对宠物动物作为动物源性寄生虫的来源有“高知识”，57.25%有“积极态度”，73%有“良好实践”。卡方分析显示，知识与性别、教育水平和家庭地位之间存在显著差异（p<0.05）。态度水平与教育水平、宗教信仰和服务年限显著相关（p<0.05）。受访者的实践水平也与教育水平和婚姻状况显著相关（p<0.05）。研究还表明，受访者的知识和态度（χ2=40.4，p≤0.001）、知识和实践（χ2=34.9，p≤0.001）以及态度和实践（χ2=12.76，p=0.013）之间存在显著关联。
尽管我们的结果表明，超过一半的参与者对宠物动物的动物源性寄生虫有良好的知识、态度和实践，但建议加强常规卫生实践和定期开展意识创造计划，以弥补现有差距。
