Table 3 Zoonotic disease knowledge and educational sources of respondents (Ontario, Canada; N = 641)
Variables | Number respondents (N) | Pet currently present in household | P-value2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Â | Â | Yes, N (%)1 | No, N (%)1 | Â |
Which of the following diseases do you think can be transmitted from pets to people? | ||||
| Â | 599 | Â | Â | Â |
Rabies* | Â | 374 (96) | 198 (94) | 0.15 |
Intestinal worms* | Â | 214 (55) | 103 (49) | 0.14 |
HIV/AIDS | Â | 43 (11) | 14 (7) | 0.076 |
Distemper | Â | 43 (11) | 19 (9) | 0.43 |
Salmonella* | Â | 146 (38) | 51 (24) | 0.001 |
Giardia* | Â | 37 (10) | 9 (4) | 0.021 |
Hepatitis | Â | 52 (13) | 17 (8) | 0.050 |
Infectious diarrhea* | Â | 98 (25) | 47 (22) | 0.42 |
Ringworm* | Â | 215 (55) | 103 (49) | 0.12 |
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)* | Â | 36 (9) | 18 (9) | 0.76 |
Measles | Â | 14 (4) | 12 (6) | 0.23 |
Mean knowledge score (SD)3 | Â | 6.5 (1.4) | 6.2 (1.4) | 0.0234 |
I am comfortable with my level of understanding of possible diseases that can occur with pet contact | ||||
| Â | 577 | Â | Â | <0.0015 |
Strongly agree | Â | 136 (35) | 32 (17) | Â |
Somewhat agree | Â | 146 (38) | 90 (47) | Â |
Somewhat disagree | Â | 65 (17) | 43 (22) | Â |
Strongly disagree | Â | 37 (10) | 28 (15) | Â |
I am comfortable with my level of understanding of ways to reduce diseases that can occur with pet contact | ||||
| Â | 567 | Â | Â | <0.0015 |
Strongly agree | Â | 121 (32) | 26 (14) | Â |
Somewhat agree | Â | 143 (38) | 81 (42) | Â |
Somewhat disagree | Â | 72 (19) | 48 (25) | Â |
Strongly disagree | Â | 40 (11) | 36 (19) | Â |
Medical doctors or their staff ever discussed the possible benefits of owning or keeping a pet | ||||
| Â | 630 | Â | Â | 0.003 |
Yes | Â | 31 (8) | 7 (3) | Â |
No | Â | 338 (84) | 213 (93) | Â |
Don’t remember |  | 33 (8) | 8 (4) |  |
Medical doctors or their staff ever asked if you owned any pets | ||||
| Â | 630 | Â | Â | 0.029 |
Yes | Â | 99 (25) | 39 (17) | Â |
No | Â | 243 (60) | 139 (61) | Â |
Don’t remember |  | 61 (15) | 49 (22) |  |
Ever received information from any source about diseases that you can get from pets or precautions to take with pets to reduce the risk of disease | ||||
| Â | 630 | Â | Â | < 0.001 |
Yes | Â | 145 (36) | 48 (21) | Â |
No | Â | 227 (56) | 162 (72) | Â |
Don’t remember |  | 33 (8) | 15 (7) |  |
Sources that provided this information6 | 190 | Â | Â | NP |
Family physician | Â | 28 (20) | 14 (29) | Â |
Specialist physician | Â | 13 (9) | 2 (4) | Â |
Nursing staff | Â | 6 (4) | 4 (8) | Â |
Public health personnel | Â | 13 (9) | 9 (19) | Â |
Veterinarian | Â | 103 (73) | 14 (29) | Â |
Pet store | Â | 27 (19) | 6 (13) | Â |
Animal breeder | Â | 14 (10) | 1 (2) | Â |
Friends/relative | Â | 27 (19) | 17 (35) | Â |
Internet | Â | 45 (32) | 18 (38) | Â |
Books | Â | 41 (29) | 12 (25) | Â |
Television/ newspaper/ magazines | Â | 29 (20) | 12 (25) | Â |
Other | Â | 5 (4) | 3 (6) | Â |
Most useful source (when 2 or more) | 100 | Â | Â | NP |
Family physician | Â | 1 (1) | 2 (8) | Â |
Specialist physician | Â | 4 (5) | 1 (4) | Â |
Public health personnel | Â | 1 (1) | 1 (4) | Â |
Veterinarian | Â | 45 (59) | 7 (29) | Â |
Pet store | Â | 1 (1) | 0 | Â |
Animal breeder | Â | 3 (4) | 0 | Â |
Friends/relative | Â | 2 (3) | 4 (17) | Â |
Internet | Â | 8 (11) | 5 (21) | Â |
Books | Â | 7 (9) | 2 (8) | Â |
Television/ newspaper/ magazines | Â | 3 (4) | 1 (4) | Â |
Other | Â | 1 (1) | 1 (4) | Â |
Who do you believe should be responsible for providing information about diseases that can occur with pet contact?6 | ||||
| Â | 627 | Â | Â | NP |
Family physician | Â | 190 (47) | 121 (55) | Â |
Specialist physician | Â | 26 (6) | 15 (7) | Â |
Nursing staff | Â | 28 (7) | 20 (9) | Â |
Public health personnel | Â | 127 (31) | 120 (54) | Â |
Veterinarian | Â | 350 (86) | 125 (56) | Â |
Breeder/ pet store/ shelter | Â | 18 (4) | 10 (5) | Â |
Self | Â | 15 (4) | 0 | Â |
Media | Â | 3 (1) | 8 (4) | Â |
None | Â | 34 (8) | 22 (10) | Â |
Other | Â | 2 (0) | 2 (1) | Â |