Conference abstract
Application of the theory of planned behaviour to vaccination of dogs against rabies in Abeokuta, Nigeria
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2019:10(19).27
Mar 2019.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2019.10.19.857
Archived on: 27 Mar 2019
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Behavioural change, health belief theory, rabies campaign, systematic review
Oral presentation
Application of the theory of planned behaviour to vaccination of dogs against rabies in Abeokuta, Nigeria
Olajoju Awoyomi1,&, Motunrayo Onadeji1, Olugbenga Kehinde1, Oluwawemimo Adebowale1
1Department of Veterinary Public Health and Reproduction, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria
&Corresponding author
Olajoju Awoyomi, Department of Veterinary Public Health and Reproduction, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria
Introduction: rabies remains a public health challenge in need of more effective control policy in Nigeria. A theoretical frame work based on the ability to predict human behavior is commonly adopted. The study aimed at applying the theory of planned behaviour to explain how intention to vaccinate their dogs compares with actual vaccination compliance in Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun State, Nigeria.
Methods: a purposive cross-sectional survey of dog owners was conducted in Abeokuta, using a structured questionnaire. Basic demographic data were obtained and their attitude, perceived behavioural control, intention, subjective norm, and knowledge were assessed. The knowledge effect was categorized into objective knowledge and subjective knowledge with predefined threshold. A total of 225 dog owners completed the questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficient, chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to test the relationships between dog ownership attributes and vaccination outcomes.
Results: people with threshold attitude, stronger subjective norms, and threshold perceptive behavioural control had stronger behavioural intention. Secondly, attitude rather than perceived behavioural control was the best predictive index in the model. Perceived behavioural control was more influenced by objective knowledge than subjective knowledge.
Conclusion: we have applied the theory of planned behaviour to model and explain the practices of dog owners and to predict how to achieve more effective increase in dog vaccination coverage against rabies in Abeokuta, Nigeria. The findings indicate the need to go beyond understanding dog owners’ attitudes, but also their subjective norms and objective knowledge that in turn affects perceptive behavioural control and intention.
