Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South Africa

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 miti...

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Main Authors: Daniel N. Qekwana, Cheryl M.E. McCrindle, James W. Oguttu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2014-08-01
Series:Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jsava.co.za/index.php/jsava/article/view/1035
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spelling doaj-824018bf543d4f7c99e613659474fc832020-11-24T20:53:52ZengAOSISJournal of the South African Veterinary Association1019-91282224-94352014-08-01851e1e410.4102/jsava.v85i1.1035966Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South AfricaDaniel N. Qekwana0Cheryl M.E. McCrindle1James W. Oguttu2Department of Paraclinical Sciences, University of PretoriaDepartment of Paraclinical Sciences, University of PretoriaDepartment of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South AfricaIn 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.https://jsava.co.za/index.php/jsava/article/view/1035Traditional slaughter, Goats, Zoonoses, Food Safety, Occupational Health, Risk communication
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Daniel N. Qekwana
Cheryl M.E. McCrindle
James W. Oguttu
spellingShingle Daniel N. Qekwana
Cheryl M.E. McCrindle
James W. Oguttu
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
Traditional slaughter, Goats, Zoonoses, Food Safety, Occupational Health, Risk communication
author_facet Daniel N. Qekwana
Cheryl M.E. McCrindle
James W. Oguttu
author_sort Daniel N. Qekwana
title Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South Africa
title_short Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South Africa
title_full Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South Africa
title_fullStr Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in Tshwane, South Africa
title_sort designing a risk communication strategy for health hazards posed by traditional slaughter of goats in tshwane, south africa
publisher AOSIS
series Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
issn 1019-9128
2224-9435
publishDate 2014-08-01
description 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.
topic Traditional slaughter, Goats, Zoonoses, Food Safety, Occupational Health, Risk communication
url https://jsava.co.za/index.php/jsava/article/view/1035
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