It has been shown that once children have acquired basic knowledge of how disease is transmitted and prevented, they are able to take initiatives to prevent disease incidence through their role as change agents. Studies indicate that students express a high commitment to school-based, participatory health education, rendering them the prime target demographic of health education interventions.
Sikkem, India has implemented a community-based rabies health education and dog-bite prevention program was implemented, evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention and gaps in baseline knowledge in local school children. Overall, interpretation of dog-behavior and knowledge of rabies improved by 19% whereas knowledge of post-exposure precautionary steps improved by approximately 40%.
Engagement from endemic countries to include learning about dog behavior in school health education curricula can significantly prevent bite injuries, rabies and improve knowledge on care seeking practice. Changing the current public perceptions of rabies prevention and control is a fundamental aspect of ongoing rabies control efforts. Effective educational initiatives that target at-risk children are therefore vital to such efforts.