How to Reduce the Latent Social Risk of Disease: The Determinants of Vaccination against Rabies in Taiwan

Ku-Yuan Lee, Li-Chi Lan, Jiun-Hao Wang, Chen-Ling Fang and Kun-Sun Shiao
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Ku-Yuan Lee: Department of Bio-industry Communication and Development, College of Bio-resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Daan Dist., Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Li-Chi Lan: Department of Business Administration, College of Business, National Taipei University, No. 151, University Rd., San Shia Dist., New Taipei City 23741, Taiwan
Jiun-Hao Wang: Department of Bio-industry Communication and Development, College of Bio-resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Daan Dist., Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Chen-Ling Fang: Department of Banking and Cooperative Management, College of Business, National Taipei University, No. 151, University Rd., San Shia Dist., New Taipei City 23741,Taiwan
Kun-Sun Shiao: Department of Bio-industry Communication and Development, College of Bio-resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Daan Dist., Taipei 10617, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: To control the latent social risk of disease, the government usually spreads accurate information and attempts to improve the public’s attitude toward adopting prevention. However, these methods with the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) model do not always work. Therefore, we used the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand dog owners’ behavior and distinguished the knowledge effect as objective knowledge (OK) and subjective knowledge (SK). A total of 310 dog owners completed a questionnaire based on our model. We employed structural equation modeling to verify the structural relationships and found three main results. First, our model was fit, and each path was significant. People with better attitudes, stronger subjective norms, and more perceptive behavioral control have stronger behavioral intention. Second, perceived behavioral control, not attitude, was the best predictive index in this model. Finally, on perceived behavioral control, subjective knowledge showed more influence than objective knowledge. We successfully extended TPB to explain the behavioral intention of dog owners and presented more workable recommendations. To reduce the latent social risk of disease, the government should not only address dog owners’ attitudes, but also their subjective norms and perceptive behavioral control. Indeed, perceptive behavioral control and SK showed the most influence in this model. It is implied that the self-efficacy of dog owners is the most important factor in such a behavior. Therefore, the government should focus on enhancing dog owners’ self-efficacy first while devoted to prevention activities.

Keywords: social risk; rabies; vaccination; the theory of planned behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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