Knowledge, attitudes and practices among human rabies surveillance professionals: cross-sectional study, Nghe An province, Viet Nam, 2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5365/wpsar.2026.17.3.1433Keywords:
rabies, surveillance, health knowledge, attitudes, practice, One Health, VietnamAbstract
Objective: To evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of health professionals regarding rabies surveillance in Nghe An province, Viet Nam, and identify associated factors.
Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study was conducted from 6 May to 30 June 2025. A structured questionnaire was distributed online to staff of preventive medicine, clinical and vaccination service units involved in rabies surveillance in Nghe An. For association analyses, KAP scores were categorized as adequate (>=70%) or inadequate (<70%). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were performed.
Results: Overall, 29.2% (69/236) of respondents had inadequate knowledge scores, 5.1% (12/236) had inadequate attitude scores and 35.2% (83/236) had inadequate practice scores. Among preventive medicine staff, major gaps included 80.6% (79/98) reporting that they did not share bite-victim data with veterinary services and 60.2% (59/98) reporting that they did not use data-analysis tools. Altogether, 77.3% (85/110) of district-level staff and 78.5% (51/65) of private-facility staff were rated as having adequate knowledge compared with 50% (28/56) of commune-level staff. Having received training in the past 12 months was strongly associated with adequate practices (OR: 5.09, 95% CI: 2.86–9.05). In the adjusted model, adequate practices were associated with training in the past 12 months (aOR: 3.27, 95% CI: 1.46–7.34), district/provincial-level work (aOR: 3.16, 95% CI: 1.26–7.90), working at a private facility (aOR: 7.86, 95% CI: 1.98– 31.24) and bachelor’s level or higher education (aOR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.02–5.14).
Discussion: Substantial gaps in surveillance-specific knowledge and practices were observed among surveillance professionals in Nghe An, particularly in preventive medicine and commune-level settings. Targeted training, routine use of data-analysis tools and stronger intersectoral data-sharing in line with existing national regulations are urgently needed to support Viet Nam’s goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030.
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Copyright (c) 2026 PHAM Thi Cam Ha, NGU Duy Nghia, NGUYEN Thi Thanh Huong, NGUYEN Hai Tuan, NGUYEN Cong Khanh, LE Hai Dang, CHU Trong Trang, NGUYEN Huy Anh, TRAN Nhu Hai, LE Do Muoi Thuong, TRAN Nhu Duong
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