Practices and Perceptions of Animal Contact and Associated Health Outcomes in Pregnant Women and New Mothers

Abstract

Companion animals play an important role in our society. However, pregnant women and new mothers might have specific concerns about animal-associated health outcomes because of their altered immune function and posture as well as their newborn babies. The study was conducted to collect baseline data for developing an evidence-based intervention for pregnant women and new mothers to help them adopt certain behaviors to prevent adverse animal-associated health outcomes. A survey, using the Health Belief Model as the theoretical framework, was developed and administered to 326 women attending the Women, Infants, and Children programs in Illinois and Indiana in 2015. Prevalence of dog and cat ownership was estimated to be 39% (95% CI: 33–45%) and 26% (95% CI: 21–31%), respectively. Regardless of pet ownership, 74% of the respondents reported having some type of animal contact in the past month. Pregnancy or the birth of a child altered some animal contact practices among the study participants; particularly a discontinuation or decrease in cleaning cat litter boxes. Reports of diseases contracted from animals were low (4%) in this study. By contrast, animal-associated injuries were prevalent (42%), and the majority were caused by animals the respondents owned (56%). Overall, respondents indicated that they appreciated the benefits of a program addressing animal-associated health outcomes and did not indicate strong resistance to adopt certain behaviors. The majority recognized human health-care providers as a source of information about animal contact and associated health outcomes but less frequently identified veterinarians as a source for such information. In addition, although most of the respondents felt that health-care providers and veterinarians should initiate discussions about preventing animal-associated illness and injuries, only 41% among those who had visited doctors or prenatal care services reported that their health-care providers discussed these issues with them. The results indicate the importance of an intervention concerning animal contact and associated health outcomes for the target population and provide insights to the potential implications of program implementation.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Knowledge on Ownership, Zoonoses and Practices among Pet Owners in Northern Portugal

“…However, in both cases, the role of veterinarians as educators was neglected. In fact, there are several studies reporting the lack of transmission of information about zoonotic diseases and their potential hazards by veterinarians to animal owners [ 20 , 33 , 45 , 75 , 76 , 77 ]. Pet owners indicated that veterinarians only discuss this issue when asked or whenever zoonoses had been diagnosed in pets [ 76 ].…”

“…Findings from this study are consistent with those of others regarding the role of physicians in transmitting information about zoonoses. In fact, the limited involvement of physicians in questioning the detention of pets by their patients, advising on protective measures and discussing potential zoonotic diseases has been described [ 20 , 28 , 45 , 77 , 79 , 80 , 81 ]. This is problematic since animal contact frequently occurs in both pet and non-pet owning households, so individuals without pets but with animal contact will likely not consult a veterinarian.…”

Cross-Sectional Study on the Knowledge About Pet Ownership, Zoonoses and Practices of Pet Owners in the North of Portugal

“…However, in both cases, the role of veterinarians as educators was neglected. In fact, there are several studies reporting the lack of transmission of information about zoonotic diseases and their potential hazards by veterinarians to animal owners [16,26,28,[64][65][66]. Pet owners indicated that veterinarians only discuss this issue when asked or whenever zoonoses had been diagnosed in pets [65].…”

“…Findings of this study are consistent with those of others regarding the role of physicians in transmitting information about zoonoses. In fact, the limited involvement of physicians in asking about the detention of pets by their patients, advising on protective measures and discussing potential zoonotic diseases has been described [16,24,28,66,[69][70][71]. This is problematic since animal contact frequently occurred in both pet and non-pet owning households, so individuals without pets but with animal contact will likely not consult a veterinarian.…”

Geographic Distribution of Households with Goats and Women’s Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Perceptions of Healthcare Providers Toward Risk of Exposure to Goats or Their Raw Products in Pregnant Women

“…Although previous studies did not measure the perceptions using the health belief model as in our study, they also found that when interviewing clients with animal contact, the healthcare providers would request information concerning zoonotic transmission and prevention methods. 26,[30][31][32] The importance of cues to action recognized among healthcare providers was supported by previous studies which reported that healthcare providers felt a limitation of disease identification and diagnosis in rural areas with prevalent human-livestock interaction and less confidence to give health advice. 15,33,34 This study was the first, to our knowledge, to examine a potential linkage between animals and human health using the magnitude of households with goats related to women's adverse pregnancy outcomes.…”