Table 5.
Beliefs on snakes and snakebite prevention, and hypothetical health-seeking behavior if a snakebite occurred, stratified per snakebite experience
| Beliefs | Total (N = 382) | Personal snakebite (N = 51) | Observed snakebite (N = 141) | No experience (N = 191) | P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | ||
| Reasons why snakes bite | |||||||||
| Hungry | 11 | 2.9 | 1 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.8 | 6 | 3.2 | 1.000 |
| Scared | 61 | 16.1 | 15 | 30.6 | 25 | 17.7 | 21 | 11.1 | 0.004 |
| Stepped on/disturbed | 260 | 68.4 | 32 | 65.3 | 98 | 69.5 | 130 | 68.4 | 0.851 |
| Animals in house | 30 | 7.9 | 5 | 10.2 | 11 | 7.8 | 14 | 7.4 | 0.774 |
| Accident | 9 | 2.4 | 2 | 4.1 | 3 | 2.1 | 4 | 2.4 | 0.651 |
| Sent by bad spirits | 37 | 9.7 | 2 | 4.1 | 15 | 10.6 | 20 | 10.5 | 0.388 |
| Sent by somebody to harm | 39 | 10.3 | 8 | 16.3 | 15 | 10.6 | 16 | 8.4 | 0.238 |
| No reason | 23 | 6.1 | 2 | 4.1 | 12 | 8.5 | 9 | 4.7 | 0.336 |
| Don’t know | 44 | 11.6 | 4 | 8.2 | 9 | 6.4 | 31 | 16.3 | 0.015 |
| Preventive measures | |||||||||
| Wear shoes | 187 | 49.5 | 25 | 51.0 | 66 | 47.1 | 96 | 50.8 | 0.797 |
| Carry a light in the dark | 169 | 44.7 | 23 | 46.9 | 54 | 38.6 | 92 | 48.7 | 0.179 |
| Ensure no snake can enter house | 97 | 25.7 | 11 | 22.5 | 38 | 27.1 | 48 | 25.4 | 0.821 |
| Do not hurt or touch snakes | 88 | 23.3 | 14 | 28.6 | 31 | 22.1 | 43 | 22.8 | 0.636 |
| Kill snake | 78 | 20.6 | 7 | 14.3 | 27 | 19.3 | 44 | 23.2 | 0.364 |
| Preventive herbs around house | 55 | 14.6 | 7 | 14.3 | 21 | 15.0 | 27 | 14.3 | 0.979 |
| No animals in house | 49 | 13.0 | 5 | 10.2 | 22 | 15.7 | 22 | 11.6 | 0.489 |
| Preventive spray around house | 49 | 13.0 | 5 | 10.2 | 16 | 11.4 | 28 | 14.8 | 0.607 |
| Clear bushes around house | 30 | 7.9 | 2 | 4.1 | 7 | 5.0 | 21 | 11.1 | 0.092 |
| Don’t know | 8 | 2.1 | 2 | 4.1 | 4 | 2.9 | 2 | 1.1 | 0.221 |
| Type of care after bite | |||||||||
| Traditional healer | 23 | 6.1 | 6 | 12.2 | 7 | 5.0 | 10 | 5.3 | 0.185 |
| First aid | 200 | 52.6 | 23 | 46.9 | 81 | 57.5 | 96 | 50.5 | 0.315 |
| Community health worker | 71 | 18.7 | 9 | 18.4 | 23 | 16.3 | 39 | 20.5 | 0.620 |
| Health facility | 321 | 84.5 | 33 | 67.4 | 115 | 81.6 | 173 | 91.1 | 0.001 |
| First aid after bite* | |||||||||
| Tourniquet | 157 | 78.5 | 17 | 73.9 | 59 | 72.8 | 81 | 84.4 | 0.141 |
| Black stone | 93 | 46.5 | 12 | 52.2 | 29 | 35.8 | 52 | 54.2 | 0.044 |
| Cut the bite | 49 | 24.5 | 3 | 13.0 | 23 | 28.4 | 23 | 24.0 | 0.329 |
| Wash the bite | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 8.6 | 9 | 9.4 | 0.397 |
| Pain killers | 13 | 6.5 | 1 | 4.4 | 5 | 6.2 | 7 | 7.3 | 1.000 |
| Antibiotics | 11 | 5.5 | 1 | 4.4 | 3 | 3.7 | 7 | 7.3 | 0.624 |
*
Only asked if respondent indicated they would use first aid after a snakebite.