Lyme Disease Risk Perceptions in New Hampshire, USA: Bridging Regression and Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The number of tick-borne Lyme disease cases reported in the northeastern United States has increased dramatically since 2000. New Hampshire experiences among the highest rates of Lyme disease in the United States, with climate change exacerbating the threat. This study explores residents’ perceived risk of Lyme disease in a highly affected state. The author employs a two-prong approach using survey data collected in August 2018. The first model uses logistic regression to test the relationship between Lyme disease risk perceptions and sociodemographics including climate change knowledge, political identity, news consumption, education, and gender. For the second model, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) explores differently composed set relations that produce the same outcome: perceiving Lyme disease as a major risk. Results suggest that risk perceptions are gendered and closely associated with knowledge of climate change’s impact on vector-borne disease. QCA highlights equifinality in a number of conditions including political identity, news media, gender, and population density.