Submission ID 130658
| Issue/Objective | A persistent paradox exists in bushmeat research: education often predicts knowledge of zoonotic risks but shows no association with actual behavior. This study examines a critical equity question - does poverty moderate education's protective effect, rendering health knowledge ineffective for the most vulnerable? |
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| Methodology/Approach | Using convergent mixed-methods, we examined 505 households (1,482 participants) across six urban DRC provinces. We test the statistical interaction between multidimensional poverty and household education level (defined as the highest educational attainment within the household) as predictors of consumption. Logistic regression models with marginal effects analysis are used to determine if education reduces consumption only among economically advantaged households. Concurrently, 16 focus group discussions with hunters and vendors were analyzed to understand how educated individuals in poverty navigate the tension between health knowledge and economic imperatives. |
| Results | Preliminary findings reveal sophisticated risk reasoning among educated participants experiencing poverty who articulate acute awareness of disease transmission while describing economic constraints: "I studied biology, I know the dangers, but my children need to eat." Initial coding suggests these represent not knowledge gaps but constrained choices between immediate food security and uncertain future health risks. Statistical results are expected to demonstrate how structural barriers can eliminate the educational advantage typically seen in higher socioeconomic brackets. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | This study challenges deficit-based intervention models. It highlights the need for rights-based approaches that address the structural poverty undermining the right to health, ensuring that interventions tackle the conditions that make risky behaviors an economic necessity rather than solely targeting individual knowledge. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Oum El Hanae El Kraid Independent Researcher Oum El Hanae El Kraid Independent Researcher Stéphanie Maltais Department of Health Management, Evaluation and Policy, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal Justin Masumu Mulumbu Central Veterinary Laboratory of Kinshasa Rolly Nzau Paku National Pedagogical University - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine |
