Tick-borne disease preventive practices and perceptions in an endemic area

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Vector-Borne Diseases

Background:

• Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the U.S., with increasing reported cases since 1991.
• Targeted prevention strategies are crucial due to the rising incidence of Lyme disease.
• Southwestern Connecticut is an area endemic for Lyme disease, necessitating local prevention research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate knowledge of tick-borne diseases.
• To assess beliefs and practices regarding personal tick-borne disease prevention methods.
• To understand the perceived effectiveness and burdensomeness of these prevention methods.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous questionnaire was administered to 275 participants in southwestern Connecticut.
• Data collected between June and September 2014.
• Assessed knowledge, performance of four prevention methods, and perceptions of effectiveness and burdensomeness.

Main Results:

• Participant knowledge of tick-borne diseases was poor (average score 57%).
• Performing tick checks was most common (68%), while using tick repellent was least common (38%).
• Higher knowledge correlated with performing tick checks, and belief in effectiveness strongly predicted behavior, but perceived burdensomeness did not.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant gap between the perceived effectiveness of Lyme disease prevention behaviors and their actual performance.
• Public health interventions need to address unknown barriers to consistent adoption of preventive behaviors.
• Further research is required to identify and overcome obstacles to personal tick-borne disease prevention.