Optimizing Dog Rabies Vaccination Services to the Public: A Discrete Choice Experiment in Guangdong, China

SIMPLE SUMMARY: A discrete choice experiment was designed to explore dog-keeping households’ preferences for dog rabies vaccination services. Dog-keeping households can be classified into three types based on the latent class model: resolute executors, mischievous rebels, and incentivized compliers. The residence, children in the household, perception of the safety risks, and knowledge of rabies may contribute to the heterogeneity among the households. Supportive measures should be provided to improve the convenience of dog rabies vaccination services in emerging countries like China. ABSTRACT: Vaccination for dogs is essential for controlling rabies and achieving the goal of eliminating dog-mediated rabies globally by 2030. This paper aims to investigate the preferences for public services regarding rabies vaccination, in an effort to optimize the existing rabies vaccination and prevention programs in China. The households investigated had significant preferences for dog rabies vaccination service attributes. The households can be classified into three types: resolute executors (52.13%), mischievous rebels (5.85%), and incentivized compliers (42.02%). The residence, the presence of children in the household, perception of the safety risks, and knowledge of rabies may be sources of heterogeneity. Supportive services on dog rabies vaccination should be made available, such as arranging weekend vaccination services, building mobile vaccination stations, providing home vaccination services, and increasing vaccine supply through multiple channels. Furthermore, multiple measures can be taken to increase rabies vaccination awareness among family members and facilitate dog management innovation to further increase the level of rabies prevention and control.