TY - JOUR
T1 - Study of dog population dynamics and rabies awareness in Thailand using a school-based participatory research approach
AU - Thichumpa, Weerakorn
AU - Wiratsudakul, Anuwat
AU - Suwanpakdee, Sarin
AU - Sararat, Chayanin
AU - Modchang, Charin
AU - Pan-Ngum, Setha
AU - Prompoon, Nakornthip
AU - Sagarasaeranee, Onpawee
AU - Premashthira, Sith
AU - Thanapongtharm, Weerapong
AU - Chumkaeo, Arun
AU - Pan-Ngum, Wirichada
N1 - © 2024. The Author(s).
PY - 2024/9/3
Y1 - 2024/9/3
N2 - Rabies is a neglected disease primarily related to dog-mediated transmission to humans. Accurate dog demographic and dynamic data are essential for effectively planning and evaluating population management strategies when designing interventions to prevent rabies. However, in Thailand, longitudinal survey data regarding dog population size are scarce. A school-based participatory research (SBPR) approach was conducted to survey owned dogs for one year in four high-risk provinces (Chiang Rai, Surin, Chonburi, and Songkhla) of Thailand, aiming to understand dog population dynamics and raise awareness about rabies. 'Pupify' mobile application was developed to collect data on dog population and observe the long-term population dynamics in this study. At the end of the data collection period, telephone interviews were conducted to gain insight into contextual perceptions and awareness regarding both animal and human rabies, as well as the social responsibility of dog owners in disease prevention and control. Among 303 high school students who registered in our study, 218 students reported at least one update of their dog information throughout the one-year period. Of 322 owned dogs from our survey, the updates of dog status over one year showed approximately 7.5 newborns per 100-dog-year, while deaths and missing dogs were 6.2 and 2.7 per 100-dog-year, respectively. The male to female ratio was approximately 1.8:1. Twenty-three students (10%) voluntarily participated and were interviewed in the qualitative study. The levels of rabies awareness and precautions among high-school students were relatively low. The high dropout rate of the survey was due to discontinuity in communication between the researcher and the students over the year. In conclusion, this study focused on using the SBPR approach via mobile application to collect data informing dog population dynamics and raising awareness regarding rabies in Thailand Other engaging platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other popular applications) is necessary to enhance communication and engagement, thereby sustaining and maintaining data collection. Further health education on rabies vaccination and animal-care practices via social media platforms would be highly beneficial. For sustainable disease control, engaging communities to raise awareness of rabies and increase dog owners' understanding of their responsibilities should be encouraged.
AB - Rabies is a neglected disease primarily related to dog-mediated transmission to humans. Accurate dog demographic and dynamic data are essential for effectively planning and evaluating population management strategies when designing interventions to prevent rabies. However, in Thailand, longitudinal survey data regarding dog population size are scarce. A school-based participatory research (SBPR) approach was conducted to survey owned dogs for one year in four high-risk provinces (Chiang Rai, Surin, Chonburi, and Songkhla) of Thailand, aiming to understand dog population dynamics and raise awareness about rabies. 'Pupify' mobile application was developed to collect data on dog population and observe the long-term population dynamics in this study. At the end of the data collection period, telephone interviews were conducted to gain insight into contextual perceptions and awareness regarding both animal and human rabies, as well as the social responsibility of dog owners in disease prevention and control. Among 303 high school students who registered in our study, 218 students reported at least one update of their dog information throughout the one-year period. Of 322 owned dogs from our survey, the updates of dog status over one year showed approximately 7.5 newborns per 100-dog-year, while deaths and missing dogs were 6.2 and 2.7 per 100-dog-year, respectively. The male to female ratio was approximately 1.8:1. Twenty-three students (10%) voluntarily participated and were interviewed in the qualitative study. The levels of rabies awareness and precautions among high-school students were relatively low. The high dropout rate of the survey was due to discontinuity in communication between the researcher and the students over the year. In conclusion, this study focused on using the SBPR approach via mobile application to collect data informing dog population dynamics and raising awareness regarding rabies in Thailand Other engaging platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other popular applications) is necessary to enhance communication and engagement, thereby sustaining and maintaining data collection. Further health education on rabies vaccination and animal-care practices via social media platforms would be highly beneficial. For sustainable disease control, engaging communities to raise awareness of rabies and increase dog owners' understanding of their responsibilities should be encouraged.
KW - Dogs
KW - Rabies/prevention & control
KW - Animals
KW - Thailand/epidemiology
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Female
KW - Dog Diseases/prevention & control
KW - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
KW - Population Dynamics
KW - Schools
KW - Adolescent
KW - Community-Based Participatory Research
KW - Students/psychology
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-024-71207-7
DO - 10.1038/s41598-024-71207-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 39227680
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 14
SP - 20477
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
ER -