Abstract
Preventing zoonotic spillover requires balancing human biosecurity compliance with wildlife conservation. Public health messaging has often relied on fear-based warnings, though its behavioural consequences for conservation attitudes remain underexplored, particularly in less ecologically knowledgeable populations. This study explores how socio-professional background and regional context shape bat-related ecological knowledge and downstream conservation behaviours within One Health framework. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 335 university-affiliated adults across four socio-professional cohorts (Health Professionals, Biology Students, Non-Biology Students and Non-Health Professionals) across 48 districts in Bangladesh. Six domains were assessed: knowledge (K), exposure (Exp), clinical practice (P), conservation attitude (A), disease awareness (DA), and risk perception (RP) following a KAP framework. Data were analysed using non-parametric testing, multivariable Poisson regression with geographic fixed effects, and multi-stage alluvial behavioural modelling. Non-Biology Students demonstrated a significant knowledge deficit compared to Health Professionals (IRR = 0.83, p = 0.04). Regional trends in Jamalpur (IRR = 0.48, p = 0.059) and Khulna (IRR = 0.57, p = 0.074) were non-significant but warrant further investigation. This effect was independent of age (IRR = 1.00, p = 0.877) and sex (IRR = 0.94, p = 0.35). Preventive clinical practices remained consistently high across all cohorts (Mean ≥ 4.00). Alluvial modelling showed low-knowledge strata more frequently combined heightened risk perception with hostile, pro-eradication attitudes; however, high-knowledge cohorts integrated zoonotic awareness with pro-conservation behaviours. These findings suggest ecological knowledge, rather than fear-based messaging alone, may be a key driver of conservation-positive attitude in this population. Planetary health strategies should consider tiered communication models that build baseline ecological knowledge, potentially complemented by exploratory place-based approaches, to safeguard biosecurity without undermining ecosystem stability.
Abbreviations
- HP:
Health Professionals
- BS:
Biology Students
- NBS:
Non-Biology Students
- NHP:
Non-Health Professionals
- IRR:
Incidence Rate Ratio
- K:
Knowledge
- Exp:
Exposure
- A:
Attitude
- P:
Practice
- DA:
Disease Awareness
- RP:
Risk Perception
- KR:
20-Kuder-Richardson Formula
Acknowledgements
The authors sincerely thank the expert members for their invaluable support during preparation of questionnaire. We also express our gratitude to the students of the Department of Medicine at Bangladesh Agricultural University for their enormous assistance throughout the project.
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The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and publication of this article.
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Ethical approval
The ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethical Board and Animal Welfare Experimentation Ethical Committee (AWEEC) of Bangladesh Agricultural University (Approval No: AWEEC/BAU/2026(2)/38(a)). All the research procedures were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations, including the principles outlines in the Declaration of Helsinki for research involving human participants.
Electronic informed consent
As the data was collected digitally through KoBoToolbox, a study description was displayed to participants upon opening the survey link. In the description, the study objectives, data confidentiality assurances, and voluntary nature of the participation was described. Upon reading the description, if the participants agreed to participate, the questionnaire starts to appear. All the description and questions were in Bangla language. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection.
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Ahmed, A., Mojumdar, A., Sharmy, S.T. et al. Assessing multi-dimensional knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) at the human-bat interface: A cross-cohort analysis.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-68863-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-68863-2
Keywords
- One Health
- Zoonotic Spillover
- Ecological Knowledge
- Bats
- Biosecurity
- Behaviour Modelling
Source: Ecology - nature.com
