Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2026)

Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Perceptions of Healthcare Professionals and Community Members Regarding Rabies Control; A Cross-sectional Study

Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine, Vol. 14 No. 1 (2026), 1 October 2025 , Page e14
https://doi.org/10.22037/aaem.v14i1.2902

Abstract

Introduction: Despite effective vaccines and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), gaps in awareness and practices hinder Rabies control efforts. This study assessed knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perception of healthcare professionals and community members regarding rabies control.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2024 to April 2025 among community people who presented to emergency department (ED) with animal bite and health care professionals who were working in EDs of 4 Hospitals in Sari, Iran. Data were collected using validated questionnaires and analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The correlation between studied variables and knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perception of healthcare professionals and community members regarding rabies control were evaluated.

Results: 766 participants (383 healthcare professionals, 383 community members) were included. Community knowledge was low, with only 20.1% aware that animal bites can transmit rabies, compared to 98.7% of healthcare workers. Awareness of wound washing with soap and water was inadequate (31.3% among community members; 61.1% among healthcare professionals). Misconceptions about rabies hosts were common. A minority in both groups still relied on traditional healers, delaying appropriate care. Education, pet ownership, and access to clinics were positively correlated with higher knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) scores.

Conclusions:  The study found significant shortcomings among healthcare professionals as well as severe gaps in rabies-related knowledge and essential preventive behaviors, especially among community members. Inadequate wound-washing techniques and a lack of knowledge about the routes of transmission underscore the critical need for focused education and ongoing professional training to enhance rabies control.

Keywords:
  • Attitudes
  • Community
  • health professionals
  • knowledge
  • Practice
  • prevention
  • Rabies

How to Cite

1.
Khatir IG, Mohammad Rahimi, Mudgal SK, Patidar V, Kaur H, Hosseini Marznaki Z, et al. Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Perceptions of Healthcare Professionals and Community Members Regarding Rabies Control; A Cross-sectional Study. Arch Acad Emerg Med [Internet]. 2026 May 12 [cited 2026 Jul. 7];14(1):e14. Available from: https://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/aaem/index.php/AAEM/article/view/2902

References

1. Simani S, Fayaz A, Rahimi P, Eslami N, Howeizi N, Biglari P. Six fatal cases of classical rabies virus without biting incidents, Iran 1990–2010. Journal of clinical virology. 2012;54(3):251-4.

2. Hampson K, Coudeville L, Lembo T, Sambo M, Kieffer A, Attlan M, et al. Estimating the global burden of endemic canine rabies. PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 2015;9(4):e0003709.

3. Fazeli M, Farahtaj F, Shabansalmani N, Pourhoseein B, Bashar R, Khosravy M. A notable increase in human rabies mortality after ten years in Iran in 2022: A case series study. 2023.

4. Abedi M, Doosti-Irani A, Jahanbakhsh F, Sahebkar A. Epidemiology of animal bite in Iran during a 20-year period (1993–2013): a meta-analysis. Tropical medicine and health. 2019;47(1):55.

5. Gholami A, Fayaz A, Farahtaj F. Rabies in Iran: past, present and future. Journal of medical microbiology and infectious diseases. 2014;2(1):1-10.

6. Consortium WRM. Zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030: perspectives from quantitative and mathematical modelling. Gates Open Research. 2020;3:1564.

7. Bagherian HR, Tabatabaei SM, Alavi SM, Mousavi SM. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of people toward animal bites in rural areas of Mashhad, Iran. J Infect Public Health. 2018;11(6):882-8.

8. Garedaghi Y. Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminthic infestation in pet and stray dogs in Tabriz (East-Azerbaijan Province), Iran. Advances in Environmental Biology. 2011:735-9.

9. Beasley EA, Wallace RM, Coetzer A, Nel LH, Pieracci EG. Roles of traditional medicine and traditional healers for rabies prevention and potential impacts on post-exposure prophylaxis: A literature review. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 2022;16(1):e0010087.

10. Rana MS, Jahan AA, Kaisar SG, Siddiqi UR, Sarker S, Begum MIA, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions about rabies among the people in the community, healthcare professionals and veterinary practitioners in Bangladesh. One Health. 2021;13:100308.

11. Batish R, Oberoi S, Verma V, Rai S, Singh AD, Kaur J. Lack of documentation in animal bite cases and its impact on rabies biologicals utilization. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2024;13(5):1715-9.

12. Sivagurunathan C, Umadevi R, Balaji A, Rama R, Gopalakrishnan S. Knowledge, attitude, and practice study on animal bite, rabies, and its prevention in an urban community. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2021;10(2):850-8.

13. De Benedictis P, Leopardi S, Markotter W, Velasco-Villa A. The importance of accurate host species identification in the framework of rabies surveillance, control and elimination. Viruses. 2022;14(3):492.

14. Khan A, Ayaz R, Mehtab A, Naz K, Haider W, Gondal MA, et al. Knowledge, attitude & practices (KAPs) regarding rabies endemicity among the community members, Pakistan. Acta tropica. 2019;200:105156.

15. Organization WH. Zero by 30: the global strategic plan to end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030. Zero by 30: the global strategic plan to end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 20302018.

16. Bonaparte SC, Adams L, Bakamutumaho B, Barbosa Costa G, Cleaton JM, Gilbert AT, et al. Rabies post-exposure healthcare-seeking behaviors and perceptions: Results from a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey, Uganda, 2013. PLoS One. 2021;16(6):e0251702.

17. Naik BN, Sahu SK, Ganesh Kumar S. Wound management and vaccination following animal bite: a study on knowledge and practice among people in an urban area of Pondicherry, India. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2015;2(4):501-5.

18. Ahmad A, Inayat F, Ullah N, Rasul S, Bakhtiar S, Shad Z, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare professionals regarding rabies in tertiary care hospitals: A cross-sectional study in Peshawar, Pakistan. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 2024;18(6):e0012238.

19. Hetta HF, Albalawi KS, Almalki AM, Albalawi ND, Albalawi AS, Al-Atwi SM, et al. Rabies Vaccination and Public Health Insights in the Extended Arabian Gulf and Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Scoping Review. Diseases. 2025;13(4):124.

20. Villatoro FJ, Naughton-Treves L, Sepúlveda MA, Stowhas P, Mardones FO, Silva-Rodríguez EA. When free-ranging dogs threaten wildlife: public attitudes toward management strategies in southern Chile. Journal of Environmental Management. 2019;229:67-75.

21. Sharma SK, Mudgal SK, Thakur K, Gaur R, Aggarwal P. Lifestyle behavior of budding health care professionals: A cross-sectional descriptive study. Journal of family medicine and primary care. 2020;9(7):3525-31.

22. Sharma SK, Mudgal SK, Rawat R, Sehrawat S, Mehra T, Choudhary S. Patient perception towards males in nursing profession in India: a single center, cross-sectional survey. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences. 2022;16:100417.

23. Ghosh S, Chowdhury S, Haider N, Bhowmik RK, Rana MS, Prue Marma AS, et al. Awareness of rabies and response to dog bites in a Bangladesh community. Veterinary medicine and science. 2016;2(3):161-9.

24. Spargo RM, Coetzer A, Makuvadze FT, Chikerema SM, Chiwerere V, Bhara E, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards rabies: A survey of the general population residing in the Harare Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe. PloS one. 2021;16(1):e0246103.

  • Abstract Viewed: 102 times
  • pdf Downloaded: 118 times

Download Statastics

Make a Submission

Make a Submission

SJR

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

COPE

Current Issue

Information