Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards rabies and free roaming dogs (FRD) in Panchkula district of north India: A cross-sectional study of urban residents

by Harish Kumar Tiwari, Ian D. Robertson, Mark O ’Dea, Abi Tamim Vanak Canine rabies is endemic in urban India. A questionnaire was administered to 204 residents of the urbanised municipality of Panchkula in north India to assess the influence of gender, age, family size, social status and dog ownership, over the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards rabie s control and free-roaming dogs (FRD) in their locality. Bivariate analyses revealed significant knowledge gaps regarding crucial information on the control and transmission of rabies. Multivariable logistic regression models found that the respondents with a high/middle socio-economic status were l ikely to be more knowledgeable than those from low socio-economic levels (OR 3.03, 95%CI 1.5–6.0, p = 0.001). Households with children ≤14 years of age were likely to be lacking in knowledge about rabies compared to households with older or no children (OR 0.5, 95%CI 0.3–0.9, p = 0.04). The at titudes and practices of the respondents towards rabies control was positive in households with a high/middle socio-economic status (OR 3.4, 95%CI 1.7–7.2, p = 0.0008) but poor in older (≥ 35 years) participants (OR 0.4, 95%CI 0.2–0.7, p = 0.001). It is concluded that rabies awareness campaign s should be developed and conducted to target sectors of the urban community such as those belonging to lower socio-economic sections and schools to improve the residents’ knowledge and practices towards rabies. Educating ...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research