Multidisciplinary Knowledge sharing Approach in the Control of Zoonotic diseases in Nigeria: Motivations and Hindrances (original) (raw)
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2021
Two constructs of social exchange theory explain the perception of veterinary and medical health professionals about knowledge sharing on zoonotic disease control. Two research questions were raised as follows: What is the perception of veterinary and medical health professionals about knowledge sharing in managing zoonotic diseases? How do the constructs of social exchange theory explain the perception of veterinary and medical health professionals about knowledge sharing in managing zoonotic disease? A qualitative method using a case study research design was used for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select participants for the study. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and focus group discussion. The analysis was done using qualitative content analysis. Findings revealed that the two construct of social exchange theory "reciprocity" and "trust" explain the perception of health professionals about knowledge sharing in managing zoonotic disease.
Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2021
Background: Collaboration between the human and animal health sectors, including the sharing of disease surveillance data, has the potential to improve public health outcomes through the rapid detection of zoonotic disease events prior to widespread transmission in humans. Kenya has been at the forefront of embracing a collaborative approach in Africa with the inception of the Zoonotic Disease Unit in 2011. Joint outbreak responses have been coordinated at the national level, yet little is currently documented on cross-sectoral collaboration at the sub-national level.Methods: Key informant interviews were conducted with 28 disease surveillance officers from the human and animal health sectors in three counties in western Kenya. An inductive process of thematic analysis was used to identify themes relating to barriers and drivers for cross-sectoral collaboration.Results: The study identified four interlinking themes related to drivers and barriers for cross-sectoral collaboration. To...
PubMed, 2019
This study was aimed to assess zoonotic disease knowledge, risk perceptions, and preventive practices of animal health professionals in Nigeria. Cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on 582 participants and 529 responded. Collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression models. The proportion of veterinarians (92.0%) which knowledge about zoonosis was much higher (P < 0.001) than that of para-veterinarians (32.4%). In contrast to para-veterinarians (46.2%), the majority of veterinarians (76.7%) perceived high risk of zoonotic infections during necropsy/tissue collections. Similarly, a much higher (P < 0.001) proportion of veterinarians (54.0%) considered hand washing before eating at work as effective way of risk mitigation, compared to para-veterinarians (25.0%). Professionals in large animal practice were less likely (OR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.77) not to be engaged in satisfactory protective measures. These results constitute public health contributions to the risk mitigation information that may support measures for zoonosis prevention in Nigeria.
One Health & Implementation Research, 2023
Aim: One health (OH) integrates the efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to achieve optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. Changing interactions between people, animals, plants, and the environment have resulted in the growth and expansion of human populations into new geographic areas. The proximity to domestic and wild animals, climate changes, and land use distort the environment leading to opportunities for the amplification of zoonoses. Implementing the OH approach at the national, local, and project level remains limited due to the lack of practical and tested operational methods for implementation and evaluation. In Kenya, the OH approach is spearheaded by the Zoonotic Disease Unit (ZDU). This study assessed the proportion of partners collaborating for OH, the methods, and the factors affecting multisectoral collaboration to confirm its effectiveness in controlling zoonoses in Kisumu County.
Health workers’ knowledge of zoonotic diseases in an endemic region of Western Uganda
Zoonoses and Public Health, 2018
Many factors, including lack of knowledge, influence diagnosis and reporting of disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. Health Care workers (HCWs) are in constant interaction with communities and play an important role in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, including zoonoses. We determined knowledge of HCWs regarding cause, vector, transmission, diagnosis and clinical symptoms of five zoonotic diseases: anthrax, brucellosis, rabies as well as Ebola and marburg haemorrhagic fevers in endemic western Uganda. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among HCWs based at health centres in and around Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, Western Uganda. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure knowledge of these five most common zoonoses recently recorded in the area. Data were captured as true if the responses were correct or false if incorrect. Analyses were in STATA and inferential statistics by cross-tabulation, and a chisquare P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. A majority (114/140; 81.4%) of the respondents had heard about zoonoses. The most accurately identified zoonoses were anthrax (128/140; 91.4%) closely followed by rabies (126/140; 90%), while only 21 (15%) respondents knew that cryptosporidiosis was zoonotic. Up to 20% (28/140) and 12.8% (18/140) thought that malaria and HIV, respectively, were zoonotic. There was poor overall knowledge of the endemic diseases brucellosis among all the participants, where only 1.4% (2/140) knew its causative agent, clinical symptoms and transmission. There was a total lack of knowledge (0%) about anthrax and Ebola whereby none of the 140 HCWs knew all the three above aspects required to be knowledgeable for each of the two diseases. Generally, there was poor knowledge of the five zoonoses. We recommend that medical curricula incorporate training on zoonotic and other emerging diseases, and continuing medical education regarding zoonoses should be designed for the HCWs practicing in hotspot zones.
Advanced Notes in Information Science, 2021
This paper explores interconnectedness of library and information services provision as a community strategy for the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases. Methodology used in reviewing the literature was systematic review. In the review, Akerloff’s (1970) theory of information asymmetry as discussed by Afzal, (2015, p.124-135) was used as a lens to guide the study. Within the constructs of the theory, artificial asymmetry was found to be a major factor contributing to the situation where those that are exposed to animals are those that receive little or no information for the prevention of zoonotic diseases and their spread. That is why zoonotic diseases flourish faster among humans. For long, researches indicated that domesticating animals in ménage is of psychological and historical linkages that detaching individuals from this practice can present dangers to their lives or threat to their wellbeing. Unfortunately, information penetration to the public about the dangers of domesticating animals is mostly restricted to medical practitioners, epidemiologists, veterinarians, etc. neglecting social sciences, other humanities, and their contributions. This brought many zoonotic diseases literature to be confined within the milieu of healthcare professionals in books, journals or any other scholarly contents despite calls for interdisciplinary researches. This resulted in information asymmetry where the dichotomy between the haves and have-nots continues to widen exponentially and information received by those interacting closely with animals and the information given by health practitioners is not sufficient to enlighten them proportionally. The study recommended that libraries could play important roles in creating awareness and providing space, relevant information resources, outreach programs, and engaging CSOs for crowdfunding, among others for preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
MEDVIX PUBLICATIONS, 2024
A cross-sectional study using a structured and semi-structured questionnaire was conducted from July 15 to September 30, 2022, in Kellem Wollega Zone, with the main goal of determining the community's knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) regarding common zoonotic diseases (Anthrax, Brucellosis, and Rabies) and their prevention and control measures. A total of 392 (267 male and 125 female) respondents were interviewed face to face that includes 50 (12.8%) degree and above, 66 (16.8%) diplomas, 99 (25.3%) grade 1-8, 48 (12.2%) learning or completed high school and 129 (32.9%) uneducated respondents. With respect to occupation, 46 (11.7%) animal health and human health professionals, 66 (16.8%) other experts, 56 (14.3%) students, 34 (3.6%) merchants, and 190 (48.5%) farmers were contacted for interviews. The community's Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the study area regarding zoonotic diseases were 221 (56.4%), 317 (80.8%), and 219 (55.8%), respectively. From the total of 263 educated respondents, 178(67.7%) have good knowledge, good perceptions, and practices regarding common zoonotic diseases, while only 85 (32.3%) of them have no information about zoonotic diseases. But, of the total 129 uneducated respondents, only 51(39.5%) have general knowledge, good perceptions, and practices on these diseases, and 78(60.5%) of them heard nothing about zoonotic diseases. In general, out of 392 respondents, 186 (47.5%) have general information on all common zoonotic diseases in the study area (Anthrax, Brucellosis, and Rabies). More respondents have awareness of Rabies 213 (54.3%), followed by Anthrax 201 (51.3%) and Brucellosis 90 (22.9%) as indicated in Table 2 and Figure 3. Statistically, sex, educational level, and type of occupation have a significant impact (P<0.05) on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the community on zoonotic diseases (Table 3). This indicates that females, uneducated respondents, and those respondents with non-related occupations to the health profession were found to have less awareness of zoonotic diseases. It may be due to a lack of training or education, the presence of a knowledge gap from person to person, and differences in circumstances of awareness creation from place to place on zoonotic diseases. Therefore, designing a strategic and continuous health education is mandatory and all concerned professionals need to be committed to creating awareness for the community on zoonotic diseases.
Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2018
In parallel with the recent worldwide promotion of One Health (OH) as a policy concept, a growing body of social science studies has raised questions about how successful OH policies and programs have been in managing some global health issues, such as zoonotic diseases. This paper briefly reviews this literature to clarify its critical perspective. Much of the literature on OH also is focused on health management at an international level and has paid less attention to implementation programs and policies for OH at the national and local levels, especially in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Programs to implement OH often are linked to the concept of "integration", a notion that lacks a universal definition, but is nonetheless a central tenet and goal in many OH programs. At the local and national levels, strong differences in perspectives about OH among different professions can be major barriers to integration of those professions into OH implementation. Policies based on integration among professions in sectors like animal, human and environmental health can threaten professions' identities and thus may meet with resistance. Taking into account these criticisms of OH research and implementation, this paper proposes a research framework to probe the dominant social dimensions and power dynamics among professional participants that affect OH implementation programs at the local and national levels in a low-income country. The proposed research focus is the veterinary profession and one aspect of OH in which veterinarians are necessary actors: zoonotic disease management. Results from research framed in this way can have immediate application to the programs under study and can inform more expansive research on the social determinants of successful implementation of OH programs and policies.
Epidemiology and health, 2018
Following the wild-spread of Ebola virus in some part of Africa and outbreak in Nigeria in 2013, a study was conducted to evaluate bushmeat dealer's knowledge, attitude about zoonotic wildlife pathogens and the risk of transmission to humans. A cross-sectional survey was done in a community in Nsukka, southeast Nigeria. Hunters (n=34) and bushmeat traders (n=42) were interviewed. A semi structured questionnaire were used to generate the data. Fisher exact test was used to evaluate significant differences. 12.0% of the hunters compared to 71 % traders had no knowledge on possible cause of zoonotic infections P< 0.05. 65.0% of hunters compared to 38% traders were ignorant regarding the responsibility of public health personnel and veterinarian P< 0.05. 76% of hunters compared to 43% of traders were ignorant regarding the existence of zoonosis in Nigeria P<0.05. There was also statistical association between the group and risk of contacting infection from ectoparasites P&l...