Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Department of Production Animal Clinical Science, P.O. Box 8146 Dep, NO-0033 Oslo, Norway.
Prev Vet Med. 2013 Feb 1;108(2-3):114-24. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2012.07.014. Epub 2012 Aug 19.
Previous studies have addressed the differences in registered disease incidence between the Nordic dairy disease recording systems. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether Nordic dairy farmers have varying intention to contact a veterinarian the same day as detecting signs of mild clinical mastitis (MCM) in a lactating dairy cow. This is the first, and necessary, step in the process leading to a disease event being recorded. The second objective was to study underlying behavioural components influencing this threshold for action. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The questionnaire was based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour from the field of social psychology. After performing qualitative face-to-face elicitation interviews a set of statements about treatment of MCM was identified. These were grouped into behavioural, normative and control beliefs. The most frequently mentioned beliefs were rephrased as questions. Behavioural intention, a proxy for the behaviour of interest, was assessed using case scenarios. The target and eligible herds were in milk recording and had an average herd size of at least 15 cows. The questionnaire was distributed to 400 randomly sampled dairy producers per included country. The response rate was around 50% in all four countries. The hypothesis of differences in behavioural intention between the countries was tested using Wilcoxon's rank-sum tests. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate the country-specific variability in behavioural intention as explained by attitude, subjective norm or perceived behavioural control alone, or in combination. The Spearman rank correlations between behavioural intention and each belief, weighted by its outcome evaluation or the motivation to comply, were estimated to find the most important drivers, constraints and social referents for the behaviour of interest. There were significant (p<0.01) differences in behavioural intention between all countries except Denmark and Norway. Swedish farmers had the weakest behavioural intention and Finnish farmers the strongest. Attitude explained most of the variability in behavioural intention in all four countries. The most important driver in all countries was to achieve a quick recovery for the cow. The varying behavioural intention partly explain the differences in completeness of disease data in the Nordic countries: if farmers have different thresholds for contacting a veterinarian the registered incidence of clinical mastitis will be affected. Knowledge about the importance of attitudes and specific drivers may be useful in any communication about mastitis management in the Nordic countries.
先前的研究已经探讨了北欧奶牛疾病记录系统中登记疾病发病率的差异。本研究的主要目的是调查北欧奶牛养殖户在发现泌乳奶牛出现轻度临床乳腺炎（MCM）迹象时，是否有不同的意愿在同一天联系兽医。这是导致疾病事件被记录的第一步，也是必要的一步。第二个目标是研究影响这一行动门槛的潜在行为因素。在丹麦、芬兰、挪威和瑞典进行了一项基于问卷调查的调查。问卷基于社会心理学领域的计划行为理论。在进行了定性的面对面启发式访谈后，确定了一组关于 MCM 治疗的陈述。这些陈述被分为行为、规范和控制信念。最常提到的信念被重新表述为问题。使用病例情景评估行为意向，行为意向是感兴趣行为的代理。目标和合格的牛群都在进行牛奶记录，平均牛群规模至少为 15 头。每个包含的国家向 400 名随机抽样的奶牛养殖户分发了问卷。四个国家的回复率约为 50%。使用 Wilcoxon 秩和检验测试了国家间行为意向差异的假设。使用多变量线性回归来估计单独或组合使用态度、主观规范或感知行为控制对行为意向的国家特异性可变性。使用 Spearman 秩相关系数估计行为意向与每个信念之间的关系，信念的权重由其结果评估或遵守的动机决定，以找到对感兴趣行为最重要的驱动力、约束和社会参照。除丹麦和挪威外，所有国家之间的行为意向均存在显著差异（p<0.01）。瑞典农民的行为意向最弱，芬兰农民的行为意向最强。态度解释了所有四个国家中行为意向的大部分可变性。所有国家最重要的驱动力是使奶牛快速康复。在所有国家中，最重要的驱动力都是为了实现奶牛的快速康复。不同的行为意向在一定程度上解释了北欧国家疾病数据完整性的差异：如果农民对联系兽医有不同的门槛，那么临床乳腺炎的登记发病率将会受到影响。了解态度和特定驱动力的重要性可能有助于北欧国家任何关于乳腺炎管理的沟通。
