Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice towards rabies and associated factors among household heads in Welkait district, Ethiopia

Rabies is an important worldwide viral zoonotic disease with a high fatality rate and substantial socioeconomic losses. There is limited information about the community’s knowledge, attitude and practice towards rabies disease in the study area. Therefore, this study was intended to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) and associated factors towards rabies among the community in Welkait district, Northwest Ethiopia.

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Welkait district from January to April 2021 with a total of 384 study participants. The study sites were randomly selected using the lottery method. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select households. The data was obtained using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Chi-square (X²) analysis were used to report the association between variables. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant at 95% CI.

Out of 384 study participants, 51.6% (n = 198) had a good level of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about rabies disease. Among study participants, only 24.2% (n = 93) of respondents had good knowledge of post-exposure prophylaxis. However, most of the study participants 68.5% (n = 263) had good attitudes towards anti-rabies vaccine for humans. Among the d factors assessed, sex (P = 0.001), level of education (p < 0.000) and residence (P = 0.017) had statistically significant associations with knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of study participants about rabies disease.

This study indicated knowledge, attitude, and practice gaps among the community towards rabies disease. Therefore, Community public health education should focus on creating attitudes and practices that effectively reduce the rabies burden in the study area.