3 research outputs found
Citizen Science and Community Engagement in Tick Surveillance—A Canadian Case Study
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in North America and Europe, and on-going surveillance is required to monitor the spread of the tick vectors as their populations expand under the influence of climate change. Active surveillance involves teams of researchers collecting ticks from field locations with the potential to be sites of establishing tick populations. This process is labor- and time-intensive, limiting the number of sites monitored and the frequency of monitoring. Citizen science initiatives are ideally suited to address this logistical problem and generate high-density and complex data from sites of community importance. In 2014, the same region was monitored by academic researchers, public health workers, and citizen scientists, allowing a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each type of surveillance effort. Four community members persisted with tick collections over several years, collectively recovering several hundred ticks. Although deviations from standard surveillance protocols and the choice of tick surveillance sites makes the incorporation of community-generated data into conventional surveillance analyses more complex, this citizen science data remains useful in providing high-density longitudinal tick surveillance of a small area in which detailed ecological observations can be made. Most importantly, partnership between community members and researchers has proven a powerful tool in educating communities about of the risk of tick-vectored diseases and in encouraging tick bite prevention
Determinants of parents’ decision to vaccinate their children against rotavirus : results of a longitudinal study
Rotavirus disease is a common cause of health
care utilization and almost all children are affected
by the age of 5 years. In Canada, at the
time of this survey (2008–09), immunization rates
for rotavirus were <20%.We assessed the determinants
of a parent’s acceptance to have their
child immunized against rotavirus. The survey
instruments were based on the Theory of
Planned Behavior. Data were collected in two
phases. In all, 413 and 394 parents completed
the first and second interviews, respectively (retention
rate 95%). Most parents (67%) intended
to immunize their child against rotavirus.
Factors significantly associated with parental intentions
(Phase 1) were as follows: perception of
the moral correctness of having their child
immunized (personal normative belief) and perception
that significant others will approve of the
immunization behavior (subjective norm), perceived
capability of having their child immunized
(perceived behavioral control) and household
income. At Phase 2, 165 parents (42%) reported
that their child was immunized against rotavirus.
The main determinant of vaccination behavior
was parental intention to have their child vaccinated,
whereas personal normative beliefs influenced
both intention and behavior. The
acceptability of the rotavirus vaccine will be
higher if health promotion addresses parental
knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding the
disease and the vaccine.Medicine, Faculty ofPediatrics, Department ofNon UBCReviewedFacult