Abstract
The study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 in 12 kebeles (the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia) of Kombolcha, Southern Wollo Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The aims of the study were to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Kombolcha’s community toward rabies and associated risk factors. A cross-sectional study design and multistage sampling procedures were employed to select households for the study. Kebeles were randomly selected using lottery method from list of kebeles in the study area, followed by selection of households from each kebele by systematic random sampling. Data were collected from 384 households through face to face interview using pre-tested and well-structured questionnaires. Socio-demographically, out of the 384 respondents interviewed, 223 (58.1%) were males and 161 (41.9%) were females. From 384 respondents, 345 (89.8%) had heard about rabies before and the majority of the study participants, 329 (85.7%) had good level of KAP. There were statistically significant associations (p<0.05) between KAP scores and age, house hold size, educational status, and occupation. In conclusion, the study revealed that, Kombolcha’s community has good knowledge, attitude and practice toward rabies. However, there are some inconsistencies on mode of transmission, symptoms, appropriate prevention and treatment measures. Therefore, continuous and strategic health programs are expected from health professionals, governmental and non-governmental organizations to control and prevent the disease and secure rabies free zone. Key words: Attitude, community, knowledge, kombolcha, practice, rabies.
Highlights
124 (32.3%) were government employees followed by private employees, 117 (30.5%) and 218 (56.8%) were Muslim followed by Orthodox, 120 (31.2%) in religion, and 345 (89.8%) of the study participants had information on rabies
The result of this study revealed that 85.7% of the study participants had a good level of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) toward rabies, which is supported by report from Sri Lanka (Gino et al, 2009)
This study indicated that the majority of the respondents had good level of knowledge (81.2%), attitude (79.9%) and practice (89.1%) towards rabies
Summary
It affects all warm-blooded animals and the disease is prevalent throughout the world and endemic in many countries except in Islands such as Australia and Antarctica. In many developing countries like Ethiopia and Nigeria, mortality in humans due to rabies infection are low because of under-reporting, cultural beliefs, poor or inadequate rabies diagnostic units and poor knowledge on the mode of transmission and prevention of the disease (Otolorin et al, 2015). Underreporting of rabies in endemic developing countries has resulted in the disease being ignored by medical professionals and subsequently poor assistance from international community and donor agencies (Otolorin et al, 2015)
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