Sarah Makepeace is a graduate student at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph who is currently working on her Masters project “Tick bites and tick-borne diseases: Investigating pet caregivers perceptions of risk and motivations for or against the implementation of preventative measures.” She will use both qualitative and quantitative methods with the goal of identifying the most common barriers and motivators for the use of tick preventative measures for cat and dog caregivers in Ontario.
Current project:
Tick bites and tick-borne diseases: Investigating pet caregivers perceptions of risk and motivations for or against the implementation of preventative measures
Climate change has caused the risk of tick bites and exposure to tick-borne pathogens to become a growing health concern for Canadian cats and dogs. As the risk of acquiring tick-borne disease is increasing, the use of tick preventative measures is even more important to protect the health of Canadians and their pets. Using tick preventative measures is the first step to combat tick-borne diseases. Despite strong evidence supporting the use of using tick prevention, there is significantly less research on factors that influence the use of preventative measures by pet caregivers. The objective of this research is to explore factors influencing the implementation of tick prevention among cat and dog caregivers in Ontario.
This project is using qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the perceptions of pet caregivers regarding the use of tick prevention. A questionnaire was created and is currently being distributed throughout Ontario. This questionnaire focuses on current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pet caregivers towards tick preventative measures. While the questionnaire is being conducted, the qualitative semi-structured interviews are being organized with questionnaire participants and will soon be conducted. The interviews will allow for participants to expand on the reasoning behind their decisions to use or not use tick prevention measures, and will help to identify the main motivators for, and barriers to, tick preventative measure use.
The results of this project will inform knowledge translation outputs that will be shared with pet caregivers, veterinarians, and other stakeholder to enhance uptake and use of tick preventative measures.
Contact Information
Email: smakepea@uoguelph.ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-makepeace-75452b15b/