THE EVALUATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOR OF CASES WITH SUSPICIOUS RABIES CONTACT ABOUT RABIES

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to analyze the knowledge of rabies and behavior of the patients who were admitted due to contact with animalswith rabies risk.Methods: In the present cross-sectional and descriptive study, interviews were conducted with 108 patients who applied for rabies vaccine using asurvey. The interview form included questions that aimed to determine the behavior and measure the knowledge of the cases after the suspiciouscontact.Results: Among the study cases, 60.2% were male and the mean age was 33.80 ± 17.64. 71.0% of those who had pets with rabies transmission riskhad vaccinated their pets. 67.6% of the patients applied to the nearest health institution after the animal contact, 13.9% did not care first but laterapplied to the hospital, 12.0% applied to the hospital because of fear, and 6.5% applied to the hospital due to insistence of their friends. Also, 19.4%of the patients stated that they detained the animal for at least ten days after the contact. The score of the patients with rabies training was significantlyhigher than those without, the score of those who had domestic animals was significantly higher than those who had not, the score of those whovaccinated their pets was significantly higher than those who did not, and the score of those who vaccinated their pets with rabies transmission riskwas significantly higher than those who did not vaccinate their pets (p<0.05).Conclusion: Patient behavior was problematic and the scores of educated individuals were higher. Education could improve the knowledge andawareness of rabies.