Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley
There are almost 9,500 full-time employees in Australia's thoroughbred horse breeding industry. During foaling, they can be exposed to bodily fluids and mucous membranes which may present risks for zoonotic disease. These risks can be mitigated through personal biosecurity strategies. The aim o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.1017452/full |
| _version_ | 1811177678161575936 |
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| author | Kirrilly Thompson Kirrilly Thompson Joanne Taylor Joanne Taylor Diana Mendez Catherine Chicken Joan Carrick David N. Durrheim David N. Durrheim |
| author_facet | Kirrilly Thompson Kirrilly Thompson Joanne Taylor Joanne Taylor Diana Mendez Catherine Chicken Joan Carrick David N. Durrheim David N. Durrheim |
| author_sort | Kirrilly Thompson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There are almost 9,500 full-time employees in Australia's thoroughbred horse breeding industry. During foaling, they can be exposed to bodily fluids and mucous membranes which may present risks for zoonotic disease. These risks can be mitigated through personal biosecurity strategies. The aim of this study was to identify which personal biosecurity strategies were more or less likely to be adopted by workers. Seventeen participants representing 14 thoroughbred breeding farms and three equine veterinary practices in Australia's largest thoroughbred breeding region trialed up to 16 stakeholder-nominated personal biosecurity strategies over the 2021 foaling season. The strategies encompassed personal protective equipment (PPE), zoonotic disease awareness, policies and protocols, supportive environments, and leadership. Strategy adoption was monitored through three repeated self-audit surveys designed around the Transtheoretical Model of change (TTM) and findings were reviewed in exit interviews. For all survey waves in aggregate, 13 strategies were practiced by at least 50.0% of participants. Participants were most likely to use a ready-made foaling box (98.0%), communicate the message that PPE usage is a personal responsibility (94.1%) and use ready-made PPE kits (88.2%). However, 31.4% had no intention of doing practice sessions and/or dummy runs for PPE use and 27.5% had no intention of using a buddy system on farm/practice to check use of PPE. Whilst these rates indicate workers' willingness to adopt and maintain personal biosecurity strategies, they also indicate capacity for more practices to be implemented more often. Overall, the findings highlight the need for personal biosecurity interventions to be sensitive to the demands of the annual thoroughbred breeding calendar, the size of the breeding operation and the availability of skilled staff. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:06:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-51f4e272f8494daf987a544da740c678 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:06:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-51f4e272f8494daf987a544da740c6782022-12-22T04:41:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692022-12-01910.3389/fvets.2022.10174521017452Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter ValleyKirrilly Thompson0Kirrilly Thompson1Joanne Taylor2Joanne Taylor3Diana Mendez4Catherine Chicken5Joan Carrick6David N. Durrheim7David N. Durrheim8Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW, AustraliaCollege of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaHunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW, AustraliaCollege of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaAustralian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, AustraliaConsultant Veterinarian, Scone Equine Hospital, Scone, NSW, AustraliaEquine Specialist Consulting, Scone, NSW, AustraliaHunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW, AustraliaCollege of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaThere are almost 9,500 full-time employees in Australia's thoroughbred horse breeding industry. During foaling, they can be exposed to bodily fluids and mucous membranes which may present risks for zoonotic disease. These risks can be mitigated through personal biosecurity strategies. The aim of this study was to identify which personal biosecurity strategies were more or less likely to be adopted by workers. Seventeen participants representing 14 thoroughbred breeding farms and three equine veterinary practices in Australia's largest thoroughbred breeding region trialed up to 16 stakeholder-nominated personal biosecurity strategies over the 2021 foaling season. The strategies encompassed personal protective equipment (PPE), zoonotic disease awareness, policies and protocols, supportive environments, and leadership. Strategy adoption was monitored through three repeated self-audit surveys designed around the Transtheoretical Model of change (TTM) and findings were reviewed in exit interviews. For all survey waves in aggregate, 13 strategies were practiced by at least 50.0% of participants. Participants were most likely to use a ready-made foaling box (98.0%), communicate the message that PPE usage is a personal responsibility (94.1%) and use ready-made PPE kits (88.2%). However, 31.4% had no intention of doing practice sessions and/or dummy runs for PPE use and 27.5% had no intention of using a buddy system on farm/practice to check use of PPE. Whilst these rates indicate workers' willingness to adopt and maintain personal biosecurity strategies, they also indicate capacity for more practices to be implemented more often. Overall, the findings highlight the need for personal biosecurity interventions to be sensitive to the demands of the annual thoroughbred breeding calendar, the size of the breeding operation and the availability of skilled staff.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.1017452/fullequinethoroughbredbehavior changebiosecurityinfection controlzoonotic disease |
| spellingShingle | Kirrilly Thompson Kirrilly Thompson Joanne Taylor Joanne Taylor Diana Mendez Catherine Chicken Joan Carrick David N. Durrheim David N. Durrheim Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley Frontiers in Veterinary Science equine thoroughbred behavior change biosecurity infection control zoonotic disease |
| title | Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley |
| title_full | Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley |
| title_fullStr | Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley |
| title_full_unstemmed | Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley |
| title_short | Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley |
| title_sort | willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms findings from a multi site pilot study in australia s hunter valley |
| topic | equine thoroughbred behavior change biosecurity infection control zoonotic disease |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.1017452/full |
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