Original Research
Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South Africa
Journal of the South African Veterinary Association | Vol 85, No 1 | a1035 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v85i1.1035
| © 2014 Daniel N. Qekwana, Cheryl M.E. McCrindle, James W. Oguttu
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 10 April 2013 | Published: 25 August 2014
Submitted: 10 April 2013 | Published: 25 August 2014
About the author(s)
Daniel N. Qekwana, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, University of Pretoria, South AfricaCheryl M.E. McCrindle, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
James W. Oguttu, Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, South Africa
Abstract
In African societies, traditional slaughter is linked to celebrations like weddings or births, as well as funerals and ancestor veneration. Participants in traditional slaughter of goats are at risk of exposure to hazards during slaughter, food preparation and consumption of goat meat. For risk mitigation strategies to be implemented, identification of the population at risk is required. This study is based on the premise that the demographic profile of people involved in traditional slaughter of goats is important for risk communication. Both structured and informal interviews were recorded and analysed using a thematic analysis. A total of 105 people were interviewed at taxi ranks in Tshwane, Gauteng. Of these, 48 were women and 57 men. The median age of women and men was 40.6 years and 44.3 years, respectively. The majority of respondents (61.9%, n = 65) interviewed were from the Gauteng Province. Sixty percent (n = 63) of respondents had a secondary education, whilst less than 4.81% (n = 5) of respondents had no formal education. This study demonstrated that interviewing commuters at taxi ranks gave access to a cross section of gender, age, language and origin. It was found that both genders were involved in traditional slaughter of goats. Risk communication strategies should thus target women as well as men. Communication strategies to mitigate the risks of traditional slaughter of goats should take into consideration the dynamic nature of demographic and cultural norms. In light of the wide demographic profile of the respondents, it was concluded that it should be possible to use taxi ranks for successful dissemination of food safety and occupational health risk mitigation messages.
Keywords
Traditional slaughter, Goats, Zoonoses, Food Safety, Occupational Health, Risk communication
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Crossref Citations
1. Assessment of the Occupational Health and Food Safety Risks Associated with the Traditional Slaughter and Consumption of Goats in Gauteng, South Africa
Daniel Qekwana, Cheryl McCrindle, James Oguttu, Delia Grace
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health vol: 14 issue: 4 first page: 420 year: 2017
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14040420