Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey.
Chagas disease (CD), caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected parasitic infection in the United States (US). In the Southwestern US, National Park Service (NPS) employees are a unique population with potential exposure to CD. This population lives in close contact with several specie...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9034174fb6994cbebb5b61047c3cae35 2023-05-15T15:11:14+02:00 Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. Antonio Alvarado Emily M Mader Danielle Buttke Laura C Harrington 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 https://doaj.org/article/9034174fb6994cbebb5b61047c3cae35 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 https://doaj.org/article/9034174fb6994cbebb5b61047c3cae35 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 9, p e0010744 (2022) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 2022-12-30T21:03:53Z Chagas disease (CD), caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected parasitic infection in the United States (US). In the Southwestern US, National Park Service (NPS) employees are a unique population with potential exposure to CD. This population lives in close contact with several species of sylvatic triatomine bugs, the vectors of T. cruzi, that may enter residential buildings at night. Despite the higher potential risk of CD transmission for southwestern NPS employees, the socio-cultural factors that impact autochthonous CD transmission in the US remain unknown. To address this gap, we investigated how NPS employee knowledge and attitudes impact their triatomine preventive behaviors. We distributed a 42-item online questionnaire to NPS employees at four national parks in Arizona and Texas. We detected high self-reported bite exposure in NPS housing, despite moderate- to high-frequency of prevention behaviors. Specific behaviors, such as often or always repairing window screens, were associated with a decreased risk of putative triatomine bug exposure. Additionally, NPS employees had low knowledge of CD. For those with greater knowledge of CD, it was not associated with increased frequency of prevention behavior. We found that increased CD anxiety was associated with increased personal agency to reduce the risk of CD. These results demonstrate the influence of knowledge and attitudes regarding CD on triatomine prevention behavior within a potential high-risk population in the US, and the importance of utilizing strategies beyond provision of education to influence behaviors. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 16 9 e0010744 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Antonio Alvarado Emily M Mader Danielle Buttke Laura C Harrington Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Chagas disease (CD), caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected parasitic infection in the United States (US). In the Southwestern US, National Park Service (NPS) employees are a unique population with potential exposure to CD. This population lives in close contact with several species of sylvatic triatomine bugs, the vectors of T. cruzi, that may enter residential buildings at night. Despite the higher potential risk of CD transmission for southwestern NPS employees, the socio-cultural factors that impact autochthonous CD transmission in the US remain unknown. To address this gap, we investigated how NPS employee knowledge and attitudes impact their triatomine preventive behaviors. We distributed a 42-item online questionnaire to NPS employees at four national parks in Arizona and Texas. We detected high self-reported bite exposure in NPS housing, despite moderate- to high-frequency of prevention behaviors. Specific behaviors, such as often or always repairing window screens, were associated with a decreased risk of putative triatomine bug exposure. Additionally, NPS employees had low knowledge of CD. For those with greater knowledge of CD, it was not associated with increased frequency of prevention behavior. We found that increased CD anxiety was associated with increased personal agency to reduce the risk of CD. These results demonstrate the influence of knowledge and attitudes regarding CD on triatomine prevention behavior within a potential high-risk population in the US, and the importance of utilizing strategies beyond provision of education to influence behaviors. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Antonio Alvarado Emily M Mader Danielle Buttke Laura C Harrington |
author_facet |
Antonio Alvarado Emily M Mader Danielle Buttke Laura C Harrington |
author_sort |
Antonio Alvarado |
title |
Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. |
title_short |
Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. |
title_full |
Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. |
title_fullStr |
Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: A qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. |
title_sort |
southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: a qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 https://doaj.org/article/9034174fb6994cbebb5b61047c3cae35 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 9, p e0010744 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 https://doaj.org/article/9034174fb6994cbebb5b61047c3cae35 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744 |
container_title |
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e0010744 |
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1766342122241261568 |