Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward ticks and tick-borne diseases: a cross-sectional study in Rwanda.

Background: Ticks and tick-borne diseases pose significant global risks to humans and animals, leading to economic losses and health threats. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward ticks and tick-borne diseases among adults in Rwanda.

Methods: The sample size was determined using a single-population proportion formula. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors influencing attitudes and practices. In contrast, multinomial logistic regression was applied to assess the factors affecting the level of knowledge about ticks and tick-borne diseases. Variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: This study included 377 participants, with an average age of 35.38 years and a standard deviation of 10.58. Most participants were male (56.2%) and lived in rural areas (51.7%). Nearly one-third (32.1%) were healthcare professionals. A significant proportion of the participants (64.7%) reported having prior tick bites, while 46.7% experienced related symptoms, and 41.4% had relatives affected by tick-borne diseases. The knowledge levels of the participants varied; 49% demonstrated a good understanding of ticks and TBDs. However, only 28% of the respondents reported positive attitudes towards tick-borne diseases, and 56% reported good preventive practices. Regression analyses indicated that participants aged 45 years or older had significantly greater odds of possessing moderate (AOR = 3.81, 95% CI: 0.001-2.6) and high knowledge (AOR = 5.24, 95% CI: 0.34-2.96) than younger participants. In contrast, males presented lower odds of having moderate knowledge (AOR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.10-1.56) and high knowledge (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.81-1.37) than females did. Healthcare professionals were more likely to possess high knowledge (AOR = 3.24, 95% CI: 0.32-2.83) than those outside the healthcare field. Furthermore, positive attitudes were significantly associated with older age (AOR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.137-5.654), urban residence (AOR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.335-0.920), and living in western provinces (AOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.186-0.770). Notably, participants with moderate (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.109-0.582) or high knowledge (AOR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.056-0.297) and positive attitudes (AOR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.306-0.928) were at lower odds to engage in poor preventive practices. Conversely, urban residents had higher odds of exhibiting sub-optimal preventive practices (AOR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.09-2.90) than their rural counterparts.

Conclusions: Our study reveals key knowledge gaps and negative attitudes about ticks and TBDs in Rwanda, especially among youth, males, and urban populations. Targeted education, healthcare training, and community-driven surveillance are needed to improve prevention and monitoring. Strengthening TBD surveillance and integrating education into health programs will help reduce disease burden and enhance resilience, requiring multisectoral collaboration to safeguard public health.