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20 September 2022 Assessment of Physician Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice for Lyme Disease in a Low-Incidence State
Sharon I. Brummitt, Danielle J. Harvey, Woutrina A. Smith, Christopher M. Barker, Anne M. Kjemtrup
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Abstract

Lyme disease (LD), caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted to humans in California through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks (Ixodes pacificus). Overall, the incidence of LD in California is low: approximately 0.2 confirmed cases per 100,000 population. However, California's unique ecological diversity results in wide variation in local risk, including regions with local foci at elevated risk of human disease. The diagnosis of LD can be challenging in California because the prior probability of infection for individual patients is generally low. Combined with nonspecific symptoms and complicated laboratory testing, California physicians need a high level of awareness of LD in California to recognize and diagnose LD efficiently. This research addresses an under-studied area of physicians' knowledge and practice of the testing and treatment of LD in a low-incidence state. We assessed knowledge and practices related to LD diagnosis using an electronic survey distributed to physicians practicing in California through mixed sampling methods. Overall, responding physicians in California had a general awareness of Lyme disease and were knowledgeable regarding diagnosis and treatment. However, we found that physicians in California could benefit from further education to improve test-ordering practices, test interpretation, and awareness of California's disease ecology with elevated levels of focal endemicity, to improve recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of LD in California patients.

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Sharon I. Brummitt, Danielle J. Harvey, Woutrina A. Smith, Christopher M. Barker, and Anne M. Kjemtrup "Assessment of Physician Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice for Lyme Disease in a Low-Incidence State," Journal of Medical Entomology 59(6), 2182-2188, (20 September 2022). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjac137
Received: 17 May 2022; Accepted: 21 August 2022; Published: 20 September 2022
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KEYWORDS
Borrelia burgdorferi
incidence
Lyme disease
physician attitude
physician knowledge
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