The Relationship between Health Literacy and Rabies Prevention Behavior of People in Hua Sai District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional exploratory study investigated three key aspects of rabies prevention in Hua Sai District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province: 1) health literacy regarding rabies, 2) rabies prevention behaviors, and 3) the relationship between health literacy and rabies prevention behaviors. A sample of 166 individuals was selected through stratified random sampling, and data were collected using a questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.948. Descriptive statistics and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. The findings indicated a high level of health literacy across all areas. The highest average score was in decision-making skills related to rabies (= 4.15, S.D. = 0.52), followed by knowledge and understanding of rabies
(= 4.04, S.D. = 0.52), self-management (= 4.02, S.D. = 0.57), access to information (= 3.87, S.D. = 0.53), media literacy (= 3.86, S.D. = 0.56), and communication skills (= 3.67, S.D. = 0.58). Rabies prevention behaviors also scored high (= 3.85, S.D. = 0.52). In terms of correlation, media literacy, self-management, decision-making, knowledge, and communication skills showed moderate correlations with prevention behaviors (r = 0.54, 0.51, 0.49, 0.45, and 0.41, respectively), while access to information showed a low correlation (r = 0.36). Therefore, the Hua Sai District Public Health Office should disseminate information to the public to raise awareness about rabies, promote understanding of the disease, and encourage preventive behaviors to reduce the incidence of illness and fatalities caused by rabies.