Wednesday, 13 September 2023
A study published today in Preventative Veterinary Medicine has shown how differences in farmer behaviour can affect controlling the scale of disease outbreaks. Farmer behaviour, especially vaccine uptake or other preventative measures, is critical to how effective responses are to livestock disease outbreaks, such as foot-and-mouth disease, bovine tuberculosis and bovine viral diarrhoea.
The researchers, from the Universities of Nottingham and Warwick, say that the behavioural differences reported in the paper need to be taken into account when contingency planning or developing policy for future outbreaks.
The research team interviewed 60 cattle farmers from around the UK, investigating the farmer’s vaccination decisions in an unfolding fast-spreading epidemic. The study found that prompt vaccination uptake was associated with high trust in the Government plans for disease control and having enough time and money to control the disease. The team then incorporated this information into a mathematical model for the whole of the UK and studied how having knowledge of farmer behaviour may impact disease outbreak predictions, compared to circumstances where differences in farmer behaviour was ignored.
Understanding the specific factors associated with different behavioural responses of farmers to disease outbreaks will allow improved design of disease control strategies.
The researchers at the University of Nottingham's School of Veterinary Medicine and Health Sciences, and Warwick’s Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research (SBIDER), have demonstrated the usefulness of modelling that has both epidemiological and socio-behavioural elements. The study reveals how omitting the diversity in individual farmers’ disease management plans for livestock infections can hinder assessments of the likely national outcomes.
The value of the behavioural insight highlighted in this research could be extremely helpful in planning and administering national disease control strategies, enabling policymakers to determine the scale and cost of future livestock disease outbreaks more accurately.
Dr Ed Hill, from the Warwick Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, who co-authored the study, said: “Our quantitative study explores veterinary health associated behaviours, capturing individual and contextual factors. These data allow differences in farmer disease-management behaviours to be included into models of livestock disease transmission, which can help to inform veterinary health decision making.”
Dr Naomi Prosser from the University of Nottingham, added: “Understanding the specific factors associated with different behavioural responses of farmers to disease outbreaks will allow improved design of disease control strategies by taking these factors and the expected behavioural differences into account.”
Dr Hill added: “This pilot study has shown the power and necessity of combining epidemiological predictions with an assessment of farmer behaviour. More work is now needed to understand how farmer’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs – and therefore their likely behaviour – will change over time. We also interested in understanding how behaviours are influenced by policy, advice and the actions of neighbouring farmers.”
The research, published today in Preventative Veterinary Medicine, was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
Find out more about the FEED project here: https://feed.warwick.ac.uk
Story credits
For further information, please email Dr Naomi Prosser, Research Fellow, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at Naomi.Prosser@nottingham.ac.uk
Adam Mallaby - Media Relations Manager for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Maternity Cover)
Email: adam.mallaby@nottingham.ac.uk
Phone: 0115 748 5719
Location:
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
More news…