Quantifying Preferences of Farmers and Veterinarians for National Animal Health Programs: The Example of Bovine Mastitis and Antimicrobial Usage in Switzerland

Abstract

Bovine udder health in Switzerland is of a relatively high level. However, antimicrobial usage (AMU) seems high in comparison to other European countries also. A new udder health and AMU improvement program could improve this situation but it is uncertain whether there is support from the field. This study aimed to quantify preferences of dairy farmers and veterinarians for the start and design characteristics of a new national udder health and AMU improvement program in Switzerland. A total of 478 dairy farmers and 98 veterinarians completed an online questionnaire. Questions on their demographics and their mindset toward AMU were complemented with an adaptive choice-based conjoint interview, a novel conjoint analysis technique to quantify preferences of respondents for characteristics of a product for which multiple trade-off decisions must be made (here a bovine udder health and AMU improvement program). The conjoint analysis was followed by a multivariate multiple regression analysis to identify groups of respondents with different program design preferences. Logistic regression models were used to associate covariates with respondents’ preference to start a new udder health and AMU improvement program. Most farmers (55%) and veterinarians (62%) were in favor of starting a new voluntary udder health and AMU improvement program, but the program design preferences agreed moderately between the two stakeholder groups. Farmers preferred an udder health and AMU improvement program that did not contain a penalty system for high AMU, was voluntary for all dairy herds, and aimed to simultaneously improve udder health and reduce AMU. Veterinarians preferred a program that had the veterinary organization and the government taking the lead in program design decision making, did not contain a penalty system for high AMU, and aimed to simultaneously improve udder health and reduce AMU. Differences between groups of farmers and veterinarians concerning their start preference were identified. Also, the magnitude of various program design preferences changed for farmers with different opinions toward AMU. The information obtained from this study may support the decision-making process and the communication to the field afterward, when discussing national strategies to improve udder health and AMU in Switzerland.

Preference of veterinarians to select an udder health programme for milk producers

“…This was an unexpected finding, mainly because the technical assistance involved the veterinary service and the respondents were veterinarians. In contrast to the present study’s findings, van den Borne and others29 showed that the veterinarians considered their contribution, together with the help of the state, as the most relevant aspect when implementing national health programmes. However, in this study, the authors could not separate the influence of extra labour and veterinary service demanded because both aspects were combined in the same attribute.…”

“…where Range A i represents the difference between the highest and the lowest part-worth utility values of attribute i , with n being the number of attributes. The ratio provides an indication of the attributes that respondents valued most highly 29…”

Veterinary Practitioners’ Standpoints and Comprehension towards Antimicrobial Use—Are There Opportunities for Antimicrobial Stewardship Improvement?

“…Such studies may aim to produce more generalizable results, and would need to target a greater number of participants from different regions in Serbia. Our response rate was 44.3%, which is comparable or higher lever compared to other similar studies [ 36 , 83 ]. Being comparable with other studies in the response rate and also representing a pilot study, this study could be valuable in strategies for AMS improvement for AMR control.…”

Reducing Antimicrobial Use by Implementing Evidence-Based, Management-Related Prevention Strategies in Dairy Cows in Switzerland

“…One example of a penalty system in Europe trying to motivate farmers to decrease AMU is the yellow card system in Denmark ( 72 ). A survey of Swiss farmers and veterinarians shows that a penalty system (for high AMU) is not desirable ( 73 ).…”