Attention for Lyme prevention
Lyme borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is the most highly reported tick-related infectious disease in Europe and North America. Until effective measures are introduced to control tick populations in nature and until a vaccine is developed, we have to rely on health education to prevent tick bites and Lyme disease. According to research carried out by Desirée Beaujean, who will receive her PhD on Friday 21 April, we still have a lot to learn. Beaujean is head of the Guideline Development Department at the Centre for Infectious Disease Control at the Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Beaujean conducted research on the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of adults and schoolchildren with regard to preventing tick bites and Lyme disease in the Netherlands. There are some considerable misunderstandings about this topic in Dutch society. Ticks, for example, do not fall from trees; rather, they live up to a metre above the ground. Based on her research, Beaujean developed the following recommendations for tick education:
- Information should target both children and adults and should be repeated continuously, using as many media channels as possible. No long-term effects were determined for any of the media channels investigated (folders, film, serious game 'Tick Control' and mobile app 'Tick Bite').
- Personal stories of patients with Lyme disease should be utilised. These aren't being used effectively at the moment, despite research showing that people are more likely to take appropriate measures if they know someone with Lyme disease.
- Direct public attention to checking for and removing ticks.
People tend to be more willing to check for and remove ticks than to wear protective clothing.
Also of note: in November 2015, Beaujean won the RIVM Innovation Award for her TekenTrekTrainer (a device used to practise tick removal) and in January she was named Employee of the Year at RIVM.
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