Health Literacy about Dog Bite among School Going Adolescents in a Semi-Urban Area of Karnataka

Jugal  Kishore; Manasi Panda; Pallavi  Boro; Ranjit  Kumar Mandal

Jugal Kishore Director Professor and Head, Department of Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Manasi Panda Senior Resident, Department of Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Pallavi Boro Assistant Professor, Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
Ranjit Kumar Mandal Wing Commander (Retd.), Director-Principal, BGS World School, Chickballapur, India.

Keywords: Rabies, Animal Bite, Adolescents, Health Literacy

Abstract

Introduction: Rabies is an acute viral zoonotic disease of the central nervous system which is invariably fatal. Studies suggest the common age group affected by dog bites to be children and adolescents. Most of the deaths due to rabies occur due to a lack of awareness resulting in delayed reporting, inappropriate wound management, and in some cases no post-exposure prophylaxis. Hence, the current study was attempted for assessing the health literacy regarding dog bites among school-going adolescents in a semi-urban area of Karnataka, India.
Materials and Method: The present study was conducted in a government school in Chickballapur. A pre-tested, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was devised to assess the health literacy status about dog bites among school-going adolescents in the age group of 11-16 years.
Results: A total of 320 students belonging to classes 7-10 participated in the study. The source of knowledge about rabies for them was majorly school (49.2%) and doctors (31.7%). 30.6% of them were unaware of the immediate steps to be taken following a dog bite incident. One-third of them (31.1%) were aware of rabies being a fatal disease.
Interpretation & Conclusion: The study showed that although several initiatives are run by the Government for preventing and controlling rabies, there are some schools in which students are unfamiliar with the causation and prevention of rabies. Educating children will make a positive impact on the awareness level about rabies among their family members which will ultimately have a positive impact on the community.

How to cite this article:
Kishore J, Panda M, Boro P, Mandal RK. Health Literacy about Dog Bite among School Going Adolescents in a Semi-Urban Area of Karnataka. J Commun Dis. 2022;54(1):76-83.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202253

References

World Health Organization [Internet]. WHO Expert Consultation on rabies: Third Report, No. 1012. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2018 [cited 2021 Oct 9]. Available from: http://www.who.int/rabies

World Health Organization [Internet]. Rabies Fact Sheet; [cited 2020 Jun1]. Available from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies#:~:text=Key%20facts,and%20prevention%20of%20dog%20bites

Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India [Internet]. Report of the National Multiâ€‘Centric Survey. Bangalore; 2004 [cited 2021 Oct 9]. Available from: http://www.apcri.org

Sudarshan MK, Madhusudana SN, Mahendra BJ, Rao NS, Ashwath Narayana DH, Abdul Rahman S, Meslin FX, Lobo D, Ravikumar K, Gangaboraiah. Assessing the burden of human rabies in India: results of a national multiâ€‘center epidemiological survey. Int J Infect Dis. 2007;11(1):29â€‘35. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

National Centre for Disease Control, DGHS, MOHFW Govt. of India [Internet]. National Rabies Control Program National Guidelines on rabies prophylaxis; 2015 [cited 2021 Oct 9]. Available from http://clinicalestablishments.gov.in/WriteReadData/238.pdf

Center for Disease Control and Prevention [Internet]. Human Rabies Prevention - United States, 1999 Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP); [cited 2021 Oct 9]. Available from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056176.htm

Saleem SM, Jan SS. Modified Kuppuswamy socioeconomic scale updated for the year 2021. Indian J Forensic Community Med. 2021;8(1):1-3. [Google Scholar]

Lungten L, Rinchen S,Tenzin T, Phimpraphai W, de Garine-Wichatitsky M. Knowledge and perception of rabies among school children in rabies endemic areas of South Bhutan. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2021;6(1):28. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Aswathy S, Prejit, Sunanda C, Biju HP, Sathya Sooryam AM, Asha K. Assessment of knowledge of rabies among school childrenâ€™s of Kerala. J Foodborne Zoonotic Dis. 2019;7(1):5-8.

Grace AG, Gopalakrishnan S, Edward S. Knowledge regarding rabies among school children in an urban area of Kancheepuram district: a cross sectional study. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2020;7:3178-82. [Google Scholar]

Das J, Kiran J. Cross-sectional observational study about awareness of rabies and response to dog bites in school children between age group 10-18 years and their teachers. APCRI. 2019;12(1):71-6.

Pai D, Kamath AT, Panduranga KP, Kamath R, Chakravarthy KP, Nayak R, Chitra K, Kumar S. Survey of knowledge of school children towards the prevalence, severity, management of maxillofacial injuries, and rescue skills in the event of a dog bite. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent. 2018;36:334-8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Samanta M, Mondal R, Shah A, Hazra A, Ray S, Dhar G, Biswas R, Sabui TK, Raychaudhuri D, Chatterjee K, Kundu C, Sarkar S. Animal bites and rabies prophylaxis in rural children: Indian perspective. J Trop Pediatr. 2016;62:55-62. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Venkatesan M, Dongre A, Ganapathy K. A community based cross sectional study of dog bites in children in a rural district of Tamil Nadu. Int J Med Sci Public Health. 2017;6:109-12. [Google Scholar]

Lang ME, Klassen T. Dog bites in Canadian children: a five-year review of severity and emergency department management. CJEM. 2005;7(5):309-14. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Overall K, Love M. Dog bites to humans - demography, epidemiology, injury and risk. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2001;218(12):1923-34. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]