Integrating tick density and park visitor behaviors to assess the risk of tick exposure in urban parks on Staten Island, New York.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Public green spaces are important for human health, but they may expose visitors to ticks and tick-borne pathogens. We sought to understand, for the first time, visitors' exposure risk and drivers of tick-preventative behavior in three popular parks on Staten Island, New York City, NY, USA, by integrating tick hazard and park visitors' behaviors, risk perceptions and knowledge.

Methods

We conducted tick sampling in three parks, across three site types (open spaces, the edge of open spaces, and trails) and three within-park habitats (maintained grass, unmaintained herbaceous, and leaf litter) to estimate tick density during May-August 2019. Human behavior was assessed by observations of time spent and activity type in each site. We integrated the time spent in each

SUBMITTER: Hassett E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9396585 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature