ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
TABLE 2
Beliefs and Attitudes Section From the Survey to Assess Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Regarding Tickborne Diseases
Statement
Strongly Disagree
Disagree No Opinion
Agree
Strongly Agree
I am at risk for catching a tickborne disease. Ticks that spread diseases do not live in my area. I am not concerned about my risk for catching a tickborne disease. It is important to protect myself from tick bites when in places where ticks can be found. I know how to properly prevent catching a tickborne disease. I have the ability to prevent catching a tickborne disease. I believe it is important to use a repellent containing DEET when I am in places where ticks live. I believe it is important to use a repellent containing natural oils when I am in places where ticks live. Repellents containing DEET do not help prevent tick bites. Repellents containing natural oils do not help prevent tick bites. Repellents containing permethrin do not help prevent tick bites. I believe that repellents containing natural oils can make a person ill. I believe that repellents containing DEET can make a person ill. I believe that repellents containing permethrin can make a person ill. In the summer, I believe it is too hot to wear long sleeves. In the summer, I believe it is too hot to wear long pants Being diagnosed with a disease spread by ticks will seriously impact my life.
Note. Survey takers are instructed to indicate their agreement with the following statements and to select only one answer for each statement. DEET = N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide.
Each focus group was given only one survey section, and each section was used 5 times. Focus groups were conducted over a 4-month period and took place in an on-campus con- ference room. The PI and two research assis- tants conducted the focus groups, and audio was recorded to capture participant com- ments and suggestions. Notes taken during the focus groups included participant reac- tions and body language. Each focus group comprised 4–8 partici- pants and lasted for a minimum of 1.5 hr. On arrival, each participant was asked to sign a form consenting to participation and being audio recorded. If an individual did not consent to being recorded, they were thanked and politely excused from the fo- cus group. Participants were given 15 min to complete the survey and asked to write any comments directly on the survey. When all participants
were finished, they were asked 12–17 semi- structured interview questions (depending on the survey section) to facilitate discussion and maintain engagement. Results Our study focused on perceptions of the sur- vey instrument regarding attitudes, behav- iors, and knowledge pertaining to tickborne diseases and prevention. Emerging themes were split among the three survey sections of attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge.
prevention. Therefore, questions that per- tained specifically to repellents were dicult to answer. Additionally, some did not know what ticks were or that there are dierent types of ticks—and mistook ticks for spiders, chiggers, or bed bugs. Moreover, some indi- viduals did not know that ticks bite humans or where ticks usually attach; these individu- als stated that among people they knew, the belief was that ticks bite only animals. Question Confliction Focus group participants discussed having to randomly choose an answer because the choice they were looking for was not listed among the possible answers. Additionally, participants were often confused regarding what the question was asking: “I guess like [I] would be thinking like, oh are they asking me whether I know what this product does?”
Attitude Themes
Unclear Terminology Participants stated that there were questions containing unclear terminology (e.g., perme- thrin, DEET, natural oils). Many participants were unaware of the active ingredients in repellents and other various methods of tick
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Volume 87 • Number 4
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