Experience of Lyme disease and preferences for precautions: a cross-sectional survey of UK patients
Experience of Lyme disease and preferences for precautions: a cross-sectional survey of UK patients
Background: Lyme disease (LD) is a tick-borne zoonosis currently affecting approximately 1000 people annually in
the UK (confirmed through serological diagnosis) although it is estimated that the real figures may be as high as
3000 cases. It is important to know what factors may predict correct appraisal of LD symptoms and how the
experience of LD might predict preferences for future precautionary actions.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with early LD patients via the Lyme Borreliosis Unit at the Health
Protection Agency. One hundred and thirty participants completed measures of awareness of having been bitten
by ticks, knowledge of ticks and LD, interpretation of LD symptoms, suspicions of having LD prior to seeing the
General Practitioner (GP), and preferences for precautionary actions during future countryside visits. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to identify key predictors of awareness of having been bitten by ticks and of having LD. t-tests assessed differences between groups of participants on suspicions of having LD and preferences for future precautions. Pearson correlations examined relationships between measures of preferences for precautions and frequency of countryside use, knowledge of ticks and LD, and intentions to avoid the countryside in the future.
Results: 73.8% of participants (n = 96) reported a skin rash as the reason for seeking medical help, and 44.1% (n = 64) suspected they had LD before seeing the GP. Participants reporting a direct event in realizing they had been bitten by ticks (seeing a tick on skin or seeing a skin rash and linking it to tick bites) were more likely to suspect they had LD before seeing the doctor. Participants distinguished between taking precautions against tick bites during vs. after countryside visits, largely preferring the latter. Also, the more frequently participants visited the countryside, the less likely they were to endorse during-visit precautions.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the risk of LD is set in the context of the restorative benefits of countryside
practices, and that it may be counterproductive to overemphasize pre- or during-visit precautions. Simultaneously, having experienced LD is not associated with any withdrawal from countryside.
lyme disease, prevention, behaviour, precautionary measures, ticks
481
Marcu, Afrodita
25ba37d2-9068-4c58-8527-fb799152add3
Barnett, Julie
e075f8d9-cf31-4bfc-a6be-41988b5ce764
Uzzell, David
77b9583b-ae49-46ee-a0c9-6c07e1979fad
Vasileiou, Konstantina
5825a183-f616-414a-89b7-568dc18da8d6
O'Connell, Susan
0b91f1de-812d-40e6-b2c8-9f5ccacf9bbc
2013
Marcu, Afrodita
25ba37d2-9068-4c58-8527-fb799152add3
Barnett, Julie
e075f8d9-cf31-4bfc-a6be-41988b5ce764
Uzzell, David
77b9583b-ae49-46ee-a0c9-6c07e1979fad
Vasileiou, Konstantina
5825a183-f616-414a-89b7-568dc18da8d6
O'Connell, Susan
0b91f1de-812d-40e6-b2c8-9f5ccacf9bbc
Marcu, Afrodita, Barnett, Julie, Uzzell, David, Vasileiou, Konstantina and O'Connell, Susan
(2013)
Experience of Lyme disease and preferences for precautions: a cross-sectional survey of UK patients.
BMC Public Health, 13, .
(doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-481).
(PMID:23679931)
Abstract
Background: Lyme disease (LD) is a tick-borne zoonosis currently affecting approximately 1000 people annually in
the UK (confirmed through serological diagnosis) although it is estimated that the real figures may be as high as
3000 cases. It is important to know what factors may predict correct appraisal of LD symptoms and how the
experience of LD might predict preferences for future precautionary actions.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with early LD patients via the Lyme Borreliosis Unit at the Health
Protection Agency. One hundred and thirty participants completed measures of awareness of having been bitten
by ticks, knowledge of ticks and LD, interpretation of LD symptoms, suspicions of having LD prior to seeing the
General Practitioner (GP), and preferences for precautionary actions during future countryside visits. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to identify key predictors of awareness of having been bitten by ticks and of having LD. t-tests assessed differences between groups of participants on suspicions of having LD and preferences for future precautions. Pearson correlations examined relationships between measures of preferences for precautions and frequency of countryside use, knowledge of ticks and LD, and intentions to avoid the countryside in the future.
Results: 73.8% of participants (n = 96) reported a skin rash as the reason for seeking medical help, and 44.1% (n = 64) suspected they had LD before seeing the GP. Participants reporting a direct event in realizing they had been bitten by ticks (seeing a tick on skin or seeing a skin rash and linking it to tick bites) were more likely to suspect they had LD before seeing the doctor. Participants distinguished between taking precautions against tick bites during vs. after countryside visits, largely preferring the latter. Also, the more frequently participants visited the countryside, the less likely they were to endorse during-visit precautions.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the risk of LD is set in the context of the restorative benefits of countryside
practices, and that it may be counterproductive to overemphasize pre- or during-visit precautions. Simultaneously, having experienced LD is not associated with any withdrawal from countryside.
Text
Marcu et al 2013_Experience of LD and preferences for precautions_BMC Public Health_13_481.pdf
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e-pub ahead of print date: 16 May 2013
Published date: 2013
Additional Information:
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Funded by ESRC: Assessing the potential risk of, and possible responses to, zoonotic diseases on the development of recreational use of (RES-229-25-0007)
Keywords:
lyme disease, prevention, behaviour, precautionary measures, ticks
Organisations:
Psychology
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Local EPrints ID: 359378
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/359378
ISSN: 1471-2458
PURE UUID: 97b122f1-5f42-4018-82c8-ea09a4641ec7
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Date deposited: 29 Oct 2013 09:26
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 15:21
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Author:
Afrodita Marcu
Author:
Julie Barnett
Author:
David Uzzell
Author:
Konstantina Vasileiou
Author:
Susan O'Connell
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