Knowledge and Knowledge Needs about Lyme Disease among Occupational and Recreational Users of the Outdoors
1
Department of Psychology, Mount Allison University, 49A York St., Sackville NB E4L 1C7, Canada
2
Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, 49A York St., Sackville NB E4L 1C7, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(1), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010355
Received: 10 December 2019 / Revised: 29 December 2019 / Accepted: 31 December 2019 / Published: 5 January 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ticks and Tick Vectored Diseases—Biology to Society)
As the prevalence of Lyme disease increases across Canada, it is imperative that the educational needs of at-risk groups be identified. The current study compared the level of knowledge and the knowledge needs about Lyme disease among individuals that spend time outdoors for work and for recreational purposes. Between December 2018 and February 2019, a survey was distributed to outdoor organizations across New Brunswick, Canada. Within the current sample of 137 individuals, 36% spent time outdoors for their occupation and 64% for recreational activities. Results showed no significant difference between these groups with regard to their level of knowledge, perceived efficacy and performance of various methods of prevention, and educational needs. Overall, the entire sample reported a low level of knowledge about Lyme disease. Participants perceived each prevention behavior to be at least somewhat effective, and behaviors perceived to be more effective were more likely to be carried out, but the performance of the behaviors varied. The most frequently performed behaviors included wearing long pants and protective footwear. Participants identified several aspects of Lyme disease about which they would like to have more information. The findings call attention to the specific needs of at-risk groups that must be considered when developing educational interventions.
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Keywords:
Lyme Disease; Lyme disease knowledge; Lyme disease prevention; health prevention education
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MDPI and ACS Style
St. Pierre, S.E.; Gould, O.N.; Lloyd, V. Knowledge and Knowledge Needs about Lyme Disease among Occupational and Recreational Users of the Outdoors. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 355.
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