Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) on Rift Valley Fever among Pastoralist Communities of Ijara District, North Eastern Kenya
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004239
- PMID
- 26566218
- PMCID
- PMC4643900
- OpenAlex
- W2180944536
- Study type
- Cross-sectional study
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The study highlights gaps in Rift Valley fever knowledge and preventive practices within a vulnerable pastoralist population in Kenya, supporting calls for targeted public health education and addressing barriers to behavioural change.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study assessed knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding Rift Valley fever among pastoralists in Ijara district, North Eastern Kenya, and identified determinants of KAP on the disease.
Study design
A cross-sectional interview-based study of 392 pastoralists conducted in the Masalani and Ijara wards of Ijara district.
Population and setting
Pastoralist community members living in Ijara district (Masalani and Ijara wards), North Eastern Kenya, a setting previously affected by Rift Valley fever outbreaks.
Main findings
All respondents had heard about Rift Valley fever, 99% regarded it as dangerous, and 77% reported a positive attitude toward animal vaccination. Few recognized abortion (11%) or high mortality of young animals (10%) as key animal signs, and only 4% used any protection when handling sick animals. Higher overall knowledge was associated with good preventive practice.
Public-health relevance
The study highlights gaps in Rift Valley fever knowledge and preventive practices within a vulnerable pastoralist population in Kenya, supporting calls for targeted public health education and addressing barriers to behavioural change.
Important limitations
The summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, as explicit limitations (e.g., sampling frame, recall or social desirability bias, cross-sectional temporality) are not reported in the abstract.
GIDS interpretation
This article may aid discoverability of Rift Valley fever-related community-level evidence in North Eastern Kenya; it is a single peer-reviewed KAP study and should not be read as confirmation of any live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.