College Students’ Knowledge of Ticks in Oklahoma: Assessment and Insights

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Knowledge of tick biology and how to prevent tick bites can help reduce the spread of tick-borne diseases; however, few studies have examined popularly held misunderstandings about ticks (e.g., incorrectly thinking that ticks can jump). To better understand tick knowledge, we surveyed college students before and after supplementary tick education. Tick knowledge after supplementary education improved, but important misunderstandings remained, such as ticks living in trees and Lyme disease being a concern in Oklahoma. This approach to determining misunderstandings through surveys and addressing misunderstandings via supplementary education may improve outreach and prevention programs aimed at raising tick-borne disease awareness as well as other programs seeking to offer arthropod education. ABSTRACT: Ticks (Arachnida: Acari) are common in Oklahoma and may transmit tick-borne diseases (TBDs) to people. Due to the difficulty in reducing tick populations, awareness of tick bite prevention, proper tick removal, and knowledge of when to seek medical treatment are critical. However, outreach and extension programs are hampered by a lack of knowledge of what community members know about ticks. To address this limitation, we surveyed college students enrolled in three non-major Entomology courses at Oklahoma State University in 2018. Of the 483 students invited to take a survey, 224 (46.4%) students took both surveys. Pre-survey responses indicated lower levels of knowledge of tick biology compared to post-survey responses. For both pre- and post-survey respondents, “ticks can jump” and “ticks reside up in trees” received the fewest correct responses. A majority of survey respondents considered Lyme disease to be the predominant TBD in Oklahoma, although it is not established in Oklahoma. Supplemental education overcame these knowledge gaps, with the exception of knowledge of Lyme disease which was still considered to be the predominant TBD in the post-survey. Our results can be used to develop assessment tools to improve extension programs and enhance protection from TBDs.