Data Analysis
Because not all respondents completed every question, the N for each
question is presented with the data. For demographic data of
veterinarians, the data are presented as frequencies. Likert scale
question scores were either reported as the average ± SD or the median
(IQR) if the data were normally or not normally distributed,
respectively. For concepts such as the overall concern and perceived
risk of ticks, the average score across more than one question was
calculated. For example, the overall concern with ticks was averaged
from the rating of the veterinarian’s concern for Lyme disease,
anaplasmosis, piroplasmosis, tick paralysis, and skin conditions in
patients. For the knowledge section of the survey, a point was given for
each correct answer. The knowledge score was then calculated by summing
up the number of correct answers (with a highest possible score of 10).
Chi-square analysis was conducted to determine differences in the
frequency of various yes/no questions regarding tick control and
frequency of tick presence in veterinarian practices.
Due to the sample size, respondents were grouped into Northeast
veterinarians versus veterinarians from all other US regions. For some
questions, respondents were divided by the region of the United States
from which they were based. Regions were previously defined by the
“Tick Bite Data Tracker” from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious
Diseases, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases: Northeast, Southeast,
Midwest, South Central, and West (Figure 1). T-tests and Mann-Whitney U
tests were conducted to compare the average score for questions between
Northeast and US respondents when the data were normally and not
normally distributed, respectively. A paired t-test was conducted to
determine the difference in the available frequency of education and the
desired frequency of education. The significance level was set to
P<0.05.