{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:11:29Z","timestamp":1760235089922,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]],"date-time":"2021-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626739200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Ticks (Arachnida: Acari) are common in Oklahoma and may transmit tick-borne diseases (TBDs) to people. Due to the difficulty in reducing tick populations, awareness of tick bite prevention, proper tick removal, and knowledge of when to seek medical treatment are critical. However, outreach and extension programs are hampered by a lack of knowledge of what community members know about ticks. To address this limitation, we surveyed college students enrolled in three non-major Entomology courses at Oklahoma State University in 2018. Of the 483 students invited to take a survey, 224 (46.4%) students took both surveys. Pre-survey responses indicated lower levels of knowledge of tick biology compared to post-survey responses. For both pre- and post-survey respondents, \u201cticks can jump\u201d and \u201cticks reside up in trees\u201d received the fewest correct responses. A majority of survey respondents considered Lyme disease to be the predominant TBD in Oklahoma, although it is not established in Oklahoma. Supplemental education overcame these knowledge gaps, with the exception of knowledge of Lyme disease which was still considered to be the predominant TBD in the post-survey. Our results can be used to develop assessment tools to improve extension programs and enhance protection from TBDs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects12070658","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]],"date-time":"2021-07-20T05:10:59Z","timestamp":1626757859000},"page":"658","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["College Students\u2019 Knowledge of Ticks in Oklahoma: Assessment and Insights"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Elise","family":"Knowlton","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2932-1866","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Justin L.","family":"Talley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0096-370X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bruce H.","family":"Noden","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8927-9102","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"William Wyatt","family":"Hoback","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"496","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.mm6717e1","article-title":"Vital Signs: Trends in Reported Vectorborne Disease Cases\u2014United States and Territories, 2004\u20132016","volume":"67","author":"Rosenberg","year":"2018","journal-title":"MMWR Morb. 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