Perception and preventive behaviors for Streptococcus suis infection of people in Pua sub-district, Pua district, Nan province

Abstract

This cross-sectional survey aimed to investigate (1) perceived threats, benefits, barriers and preventive behaviors for Streptococcus suis infection and (2) the relationship between perception as well as personal data and preventive behaviors of people in Pua Sub-district, Pua District, Nan province. All 368 participants were recruited by random sampling. Newly-developed interview forms were used to collect the data. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The relationships between factors were analyzed by Chi-Square statistics and correlation coefficient. The study results showed that perceived threats, benefits, and barriers for S. suis infection were high, the preventive behaviors for the infection was in moderate level. Association between perceived susceptibility and preventive behaviors, as well as between perceived barriers and preventive behaviors was statistically significant (p-value < 0.01). In contrast, associations between perceived severity and preventive behaviors (p -value = 0.17) and those between perceived benefits and preventive behaviors (p -value = 0.55) were not statistically significant.Correlation coefficient of the relationship between overall perception scores and overall behavioral scores was 0.432 (p -value <0.01). In conclusion, some behaviors of the study population were in low level, which were not consistent with their perception. More behavior modification should be introduced in order to encourage preventive behaviors for Streptococcus suis infection in this population.