Abstract

Infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans are a risk to public health. These diseases include Lyme disease, which is transmitted through ticks, and rabies, which is transmitted by infected animals through scratches or bites. People may get these infections during leisure activities, for example in the woods, at home or on outings.

People can do various things to avoid getting an infection, such as wearing protective clothing, using an insect repellent or getting vaccinated against rabies before they travel to certain countries. This is called ‘preventive behaviour’. To find out what can help people to engage in preventive behaviour, it is important to have an insight into what motivates or demotivates them. RIVM has conducted a review of the scientific literature to assess the current state of knowledge about this.

It appears that people who take preventive actions are generally more knowledgeable about infectious diseases than people who do so less often. They are more aware of what they can do to avoid infection. In addition, they experience a greater sense of risk: they believe the risk of infection is higher, or that an infection can lead to serious illness. Furthermore, they are more likely to expect that preventive actions are effective when it comes to avoiding infection and are more confident that they are capable of carrying out such actions successfully (feasibility). Lastly, it is notable that women are more likely to engage in preventive behaviour than men.

People can be helped to engage in preventive behaviour in a variety of ways. Providing them with more knowledge, for example through education or information leaflets, appears to be effective and is already common practice. However, other factors also appear to play an important role, such as the feasibility of behaviour. This can be increased by making actions easier to carry out. For instance, providing soap and water in areas where people are required to wash their hands will make people more likely to do so. It is also important to assess whether interventions work in practice.

The literature review shows that researchers have so far mainly focused on preventive behaviour to avoid diseases transmitted by ticks and mosquitos. Less attention has been paid to behaviour to avoid diseases transmitted through surface water, birds or mammals.