Assessment of Rabies Control Attitudes During the COVID-19 Pandemic through Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupts rabies control activities in the community. A new approach is needed to control rabies during the COVID-19 pandemic through digital health interventions by conducting digital surveillance and education. This study aimed to determine key attitude indicators in controlling rabies during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study on 166 participants in Denpasar City with a total of 31 indicators measuring five variables: perceptions of the benefits of rabies control (6 indicators), perceptions of rabies risk (6 indicators), perceptions of obstacles to rabies control (5 indicators), perceptions of the need for technology (7 indicators), and attitudes toward rabies control (7 indicators) were analyzed using partial least square-structural equation modeling. The results revealed that 80.7% of participants owned a dog, and sources of rabies information were from social media (45%), the internet (33.7%), and rabies volunteers (33.1%). The model explained that perception of the benefits of rabies control and the need for technology had a direct effect on attitudes toward rabies control (p-value<0.001 and 0.015). In brief, perceived benefits and the need for technology influence attitudes toward rabies control during the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Designing a rabies control mobile application for a community-based rabies surveillance system during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bali, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Rabies remains a public health concern in Indonesia, and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has stymied rabies prevention and control efforts. There is a need to transform the rabies program to be adaptable to pandemic situations to improve program coverage on dog vaccination and rabies surveillance. This study aimed to create a rabies control (RaCon) mobile application for a community-based rabies surveillance system during COVID-19 in Bali, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: We employ the Design Science Research methodology. Surveillance officers, veterinarians, community leaders, outreach workers, and dog owners participated in a series of offline in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The RaCon prototype was evaluated using the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) framework, which included the system's usefulness, information quality, and interface quality. In this study, we used both a qualitative (n=50) and quantitative (n=342) approach. Results: According to the findings of this study, integrating public health and animal health into the rabies surveillance system are critical to supporting the One Health approach and encouraging community engagement in rabies programs. The RaCon prototype is expected to include features such as pet ownership, case report, news and announcements, nearest vet, health information, outbreak radar, emergency call, and app feedback. The RaCon prototype passed both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, indicating that it could be used to support the rabies surveillance system, particularly in the COVID-19 situation. Conclusion: The RaCon prototype was accepted by the users and got positive feedback in terms of the system's usefulness, information quality, and interface quality dimension. As a result, this prototype has the potential to be integrated into the rabies surveillance system in Bali, particularly to strengthen the community-based rabies surveillance system. Even though this prototype received positive feedback, this study focuses solely on the design development and evaluation of its user interface. As a result, further development is required before incorporating RaCon into the rabies prevention and control program.

Attitude to COVID-19 Prevention With Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) in Indonesia: Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling.

There is a continuous increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia. To control its spread, the government has implemented several strategies, such as policies associated with large-scale social restrictions (Indonesian: Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar or PSBB). The purpose of this study is to determine the variables that influence attitudes toward PSBB policies in Indonesia. This is a cross-sectional study with data obtained from 856 respondents from all provinces in Indonesia using the partial least squares and structural equation model (PLS-SEM). A total of 23 indicators were used to examine these policies, which were grouped into five variables: benefits of the PSBB (5 indicators), positive perception (5 indicators), negative perception (3 indicators), threatened perceptions of COVID-19 (5 indicators), and attitude toward the PSBB policy (5 indicators). The model explains over 50% of attitudes exhibited toward PSBB policy implementation and how it is influenced by the perceived benefits, negative and positive perceptions as well as the threat associated with COVID-19. The policy of stay at home, physical distancing, and always using face masks needs to be continued for the public to have a supportive attitude of the PSBB policy in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.

Hygiene and Sanitation Challenge for COVID-19 Prevention in Indonesia

The case of COVID-19 in Indonesia continues to increase, transmitted directly and indirectly. Hygiene and sanitation approaches are needed for prevention. The purpose of this review is to review how the transmission COVID-19, the challenges of Indonesia, and the policy of COVID-19 prevention with hygiene and sanitation approaches. The results show Indonesia's challenges namely urban area density, air pollution, and smokers, low hand washing habits, low access to clean water and drinking water, open defecation behavior, limited personal protective equipment. COVID-19 control policy with the hygiene sanitation approach is carried out with 4 factors namely personal protect equipment, health education, personal hygiene, and sanitation.