TY - JOUR
KW - Infectious Diseases
KW - Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
KW - Knowledge
KW - Arboviruses
KW - Livestock
AU - Nyangau PN
AU - Nzuma JM
AU - Irungu P
AU - Kassie M
AU - Novaes Ramos A
AB - <jats:p>Globally, arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) infections continue to pose substantial threats to public health and economic development, especially in developing countries. In Kenya, although arboviral diseases (ADs) are largely endemic, little is known about the factors influencing livestock farmers’ knowledge, beliefs, and management (KBM) of the three major ADs: Rift Valley fever (RVF), dengue fever and chikungunya fever. This study evaluates the drivers of livestock farmers’ KBM of ADs from a sample of 629 respondents selected using a three-stage sampling procedure in Kenya’s three hotspot counties of Baringo, Kwale, and Kilifi. A multivariate fractional probit model was used to assess the factors influencing the intensity of KBM. Only a quarter of the farmers had any knowledge of ADs while over four-fifths of them could not manage any of the three diseases. Access to information (experience and awareness), income, education, religion, and distance to a health facility considerably influenced the intensity of farmers’ KBM of ADs in Kenya. Thus, initiatives geared towards improving access to information through massive awareness campaigns are necessary to mitigate behavioral barriers in ADs management among rural communities in Kenya.</jats:p>
BT - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009786
IS - 9
LA - eng
N2 - <jats:p>Globally, arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) infections continue to pose substantial threats to public health and economic development, especially in developing countries. In Kenya, although arboviral diseases (ADs) are largely endemic, little is known about the factors influencing livestock farmers’ knowledge, beliefs, and management (KBM) of the three major ADs: Rift Valley fever (RVF), dengue fever and chikungunya fever. This study evaluates the drivers of livestock farmers’ KBM of ADs from a sample of 629 respondents selected using a three-stage sampling procedure in Kenya’s three hotspot counties of Baringo, Kwale, and Kilifi. A multivariate fractional probit model was used to assess the factors influencing the intensity of KBM. Only a quarter of the farmers had any knowledge of ADs while over four-fifths of them could not manage any of the three diseases. Access to information (experience and awareness), income, education, religion, and distance to a health facility considerably influenced the intensity of farmers’ KBM of ADs in Kenya. Thus, initiatives geared towards improving access to information through massive awareness campaigns are necessary to mitigate behavioral barriers in ADs management among rural communities in Kenya.</jats:p>
PB - Public Library of Science (PLoS)
PY - 2021
EP - e0009786
T2 - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
TI - Evaluating livestock farmers knowledge, beliefs, and management of arboviral diseases in Kenya: A multivariate fractional probit approach
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009786&type=printable
VL - 15
SN - 1935-2735
ER -