RESUMEN
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is an important zoonotic disease. The study aims to identify farmer behaviour types to inform the design of behaviour change programmes for mitigating the transmission of HPAI. Therefore, the study utilised multivariate statistical analysis for gaining a better understanding of the relationships among farmers' 30 biosecurity behaviours, the risk of HPAI infection, and distinct features of commercial broiler farmers, which is different from using simple and few binary biosecurity measures. Convenience sampling was used to collect data from 303 Taiwan's farmers among which 40 farmers (13.2%) self-reported having had a HPAI outbreak in the study year while 16 farmers (5.3%) self-reported having had a HPAI outbreak in the past two years. Using categorical principal components analysis and a two-stage cluster analysis, four farmer clusters were identified with distinct features: 1)'Reserved' (4.6%) tended to choose 'No idea' for answering specific questions about HPAI; 2)'Secure' (76.3%) had a higher biosecurity status than the other farms; 3) 'Jeopardised' (16.8%) had a lower biosecurity status than the other farms; 4) 'No-response' (2.3%) tended to skip specific questions about HPAI. The biosecurity status of the 'Reserved' and 'No-response' clusters was undetermined, placing these farms at risk of HPAI infection. Compared to the 'Secure' cluster, the 'Jeopardised' cluster exhibited higher odds of self-reported HPAI in the study year (OR: 2.61, 95% CI: 1.22-5.58) and in the past two years (OR: 4.28, 95% CI: 1.39-13.19). Additionally, the 'Jeopardised' cluster showed increased odds of HPAI recurrence (OR: 4.01, 95% CI: 1.41-11.43). Our study demonstrates that inadequate biosecurity practices can elevate the occurrence or recurrence of HPAI outbreaks. The findings underscore the importance of distinguishing between these clusters to accurately assess the risk of HPAI infection across farms. Furthermore, understanding farmers' behaviours can inform the development of strategies aimed at behaviour change among farmers.
RESUMEN
Introduction: Traditionally, it is believed that people's behaviours align with their attitudes; however, during COVID-19 pandemic, an attitude-behaviour gap in relation to preventive measures has been observed in recent studies. As such, the mixed-methods research was used to examine the relationships between farmers' biosecurity attitudes and behaviours in Taiwan's chicken industry based on the cognitive consistency theory. Methods: Content analysis of face-to-face interviews with 15 commercial chicken farmers identified their biosecurity responses to infectious disease threats. Results: The results indicated the mismatch of farmers' attitudes and behaviours towards specific biosecurity measures, in that they act differently than they think. The findings of the qualitative research allowed the research team to conduct the subsequent quantitative, confirmatory assessment to investigate the mismatch of farmers' attitudes and behaviours in 303 commercial broiler farmers. Survey data were analyzed to discover the relationships between farmers' attitudes and behaviours in relation to 29 biosecurity measures. The results show a mixed picture. The percentage of the farmers who had the attitude-behaviour gap towards 29 biosecurity measures ranged from 13.9 to 58.7%. Additionally, at the 5% significant level, there is an association between farmers' attitudes and behaviours for 12 biosecurity measures. In contrast, a significant association does not exist for the other 17 biosecurity measures. Specifically, out of the 17 biosecurity measures, the disconnection of farmers' attitudes and behaviours was observed in three specific biosecurity measures such as using a carcass storage area. Discussion: Based on a fairly large sample of farmers in Taiwan, this study confirms the existence of an attitude-behaviour gap in context and applies social theories to provide an in-depth understanding of how infectious diseases are managed in the animal health context. As the results demonstrate the necessity of tailoring biosecurity strategies to address the gap, it is time to reconsider the current approach by understanding farmers' real attitudes and behaviours in relation to biosecurity for the success of animal disease prevention and control at the farm level.
RESUMEN
Commercial poultry is often farmed in high-density facilities, therefore, predisposing exposure to threats of infectious diseases. Studies suggest that it is likely that farmers have little motivation to practise on-farm biosecurity. In Taiwan, where high-density intensive poultry production is commonplace, unfortunately, several avian influenza outbreaks have occurred over the past decade despite the establishment of biosecurity procedures. To develop effective interventions, it is essential to understand the determinants of farmers' biosecurity mindset through systems thinking. In this qualitative study, we directly explored the opinions of Taiwan's chicken farmers, and a grounded theory analysis was performed. The study revealed that farmers allocate resources based on their justification for the optimisation of resource utilisation, and biosecurity is the most concerning challenge. Farmers focus on the economic aspects of their production systems, particularly when the implementation of biosecurity increases production costs, and there are multifaceted, complex barriers to implementing on-farm biosecurity. Although the participant farmers accepted to take major responsibility for disease management, paradoxically, some farmers blamed the practicality of government regulations and government employees' attitudes. Additionally, the farmers rejected the government's intentions to ask farmers to take major responsibility for the outbreaks of avian influenza while some of them intended to ignore the perceived risks. Government interventions that were considered not directly related to biosecurity also negatively influenced farmers' willingness to improve biosecurity. Using the interview results together with information in the scientific literature, we constructed a modified six-level social-ecological model to explain the complex influences of macro socio-economic conditions on farmers' biosecurity mindset. The novelty of this research lies in its wider relevance to Taiwan's chicken production industry in that it provides first-hand evidence-based knowledge to demonstrate a wide number of determinants of farmers' biosecurity mindset. This social-ecological model highlights the importance of systems thinking for the development of behavioural interventions and allows adaptation to the local context. The findings of this study have relevance to Taiwan's chicken production industry and potentially to similar systems in other countries in the wider region and should result in more effective animal health management at the farm level.