Knowledge, attitudes and practices on rift valley fever among pastoral and agropastoral communities of Ngorongoro in the rift valley ecosystem, Tanzania, conducted in 2021/2022
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Abstract
Epidemics of Rift Valley fever (RVF), a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease caused by RVF
virus, have been linked to exceptionally heavy rainfall and widespread flooding. The disease
is endemic in most African countries and pose a major global health risk. Given that the dis-
ease was reported in various districts of Tanzania, we hypothesized a lack of knowledge
about RVF epidemiology among agropastoral and pastoral communities. The research took
place in a period of 7 months, from July, 2021 to January, 2022. The aim of this study was to
assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among the agropastoral and pastoral
communities of Ngorongoro district towards RVF. The survey employed a mixed method
system, which included 3 focus groups (each comprised 12 individuals), 20 key informant
interviews and administration of questionnaire (N = 352) in agropastoral and pastoral com-
munity members of Ngorongoro district. The relationship between demographic characteris-
tics and communities’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding RVF was observed
using a multiple logistic regression model. A total of 352 participants were interviewed, with
the majority (67.61%) being male and 32.39% being female, majority (39.5%) attending pri-
mary school, and majority (58.2%) being pastoralists. The findings showed that only 36.1%,
38.64% and 16.19% of participants had good knowledge, positive attitude and good prac-
tices regarding RVF respectively. Significant demographic factors related with knowledge
included: gender (OR = 1.9, CI = 1.03–3.56, P = 0.041), education levels (primary: OR =
3.97, CI = 2–8.16, P = 0.000; secondary: OR = 15.27, CI = 5.5–46.23, P = 0.000 and college:
OR = 34. 23, CI = 5.4–67.22, P = 0.000), and locality (Pinyinyi: OR = 0.14, CI = 0.05–0.38, P
= 0.000 and Sale: OR = 0.14, CI = 0.04–0.44, P = 0.001). Male participants showed signifi-
cant positive attitude towards RVF compared to female (OR = 2.37, CI = 1.35–4.17, P =
0.003). Individuals with formal education showed a significant positive attitude toward RVF
compared to informal (OR>1, P<0.05). Agropastoral members showed a significant nega-
tive attitude toward RVF compared to pastoralists (OR = 0.51, CI = 0.26–0.99, P = 0.048).The calculated RVF prevention practices values were insignificantly (P = 0.853) correlated
with knowledge values. The significant correlation between knowledge and attitude, as well
as attitude and practice were found (P<0.05). In general, the study revealed poor knowl-
edge, negative attitude and poor practices of communities towards RVF. The lack of regular
education programs to make the communities aware of the disease was implicated for
these findings. This recommends that provision of health education should be a long-term
practice among agropastoral and pastoral communities in order to prevent further RVF out-
breaks in Tanzania.
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Knowledge, Rift valley fever, Ngorongoro, Ecosystem, Agropastoral communities
Citation
Issae AR, Katakweba AAS, Kicheleri RP, ChengulaAA, Kasanga CJ (2023) Knowledge,attitudes and practices on rift valley fever among pastoral and agropastoral communities of Ngorongoro in the rift valley ecosystem,Tanzania,conducted in 2021/2022. PLoSNegl Trop Dis17(8):e0011560.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011560