Czycholl Irena, Klingbeil Philipp, Krieter Joachim
Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
J Equine Vet Sci. 2019 Apr;75:112-121. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.02.005. Epub 2019 Feb 14.
Objective tools for the assessment of animal welfare are needed. The present study analyzed the interobserver reliability of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) welfare assessment protocol for horses to further enhance knowledge concerning reliability. Therefore, two trained observers conducted 18 assessments on farm at the same time and on the same animals. The results were compared at individual level by calculation of Cohen's kappa (κ), weighted kappa (κ), and prevalence-adjusted, bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Spearman rank correlation coefficient (RS), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), limits of agreement (LoA), and smallest detectable change (SDC) were used at farm level. The Qualitative Behaviour Assessment was further analyzed by means of principal component analysis. At the individual level, most of the indicators demonstrated acceptable (κ, κ, PABAK ≥ 0.4) to good (κ, κ, PABAK ≥ 0.6) interobserver reliability. Also, at farm level, most of the indicators demonstrated acceptable (RS ≥ 0.4; ICC ≥ 0.4; SDC: ≤ 0.1; LoA ε [0.1; 0.1]) to good (RS: ≥ 0.7; ICC: ≥ 0.7; SDC: ≤ 0.05; LoA: ε [0.05; 0.05]) interobserver reliability. Exceptions were the indicators moderate presence of tension above eye area (score 1) and orbital tightening (score 1) on the Horse Grimace Scale, as well as the presence of swollen joints. Furthermore, the present results indicate that the details for the different scores should be improved for some indicators such as the Body Condition Score. In general, this study points out a good interobserver reliability of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses.
需要用于评估动物福利的客观工具。本研究分析了马匹动物福利指标（AWIN）福利评估方案的观察者间可靠性，以进一步增进对可靠性的了解。因此，两名经过培训的观察者同时在农场对同一批动物进行了18次评估。通过计算科恩kappa系数（κ）、加权kappa系数（κ）和患病率调整、偏差调整kappa系数（PABAK）在个体水平上比较结果。在农场水平上使用斯皮尔曼等级相关系数（RS）、组内相关系数（ICC）、一致性界限（LoA）和最小可检测变化（SDC）。通过主成分分析进一步分析定性行为评估。在个体水平上，大多数指标显示出可接受的（κ、κ、PABAK≥0.4）到良好的（κ、κ、PABAK≥0.6）观察者间可靠性。此外，在农场水平上，大多数指标也显示出可接受的（RS≥0.4；ICC≥0.4；SDC：≤0.1；LoAε[0.1；0.1]）到良好的（RS：≥0.7；ICC：≥0.7；SDC：≤0.05；LoA：ε[0.05；0.05]）观察者间可靠性。例外情况是马面部表情量表上眼区上方中度紧张（评分1）和眼眶收紧（评分1）的指标，以及关节肿胀的情况。此外，目前的结果表明，对于一些指标，如身体状况评分，不同分数的细节应加以改进。总体而言，本研究指出AWIN马匹福利评估方案具有良好的观察者间可靠性。
