Alemu Biruk, Desta Hiwot, Kinati Wole, Mulema Annet A, Gizaw Solomon, Wieland Barbara
Animal and Human Health Research Program, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Front Vet Sci. 2019 Nov 26;6:417. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00417. eCollection 2019.
Animal health interventions tend to focus on transboundary or zoonotic animal diseases and little attention is given to diseases that mainly affect livestock production and productivity which are of concern for smallholder farmers. To understand disease priorities of men and women livestock keepers and how these impact households, this study used participatory methods to elucidate priorities, reasons for prioritization, knowledge on small ruminant diseases and their transmission pathways. The study was conducted in 23 sites distributed across 14 districts in four regional states of Ethiopia. Ninety-two focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with men or women only groups. Various tools, such as semi-structured interviews, simple scoring and proportional piling were used to facilitate the process. A follow-up household survey involving 432 households/interviewees collected in-depth data on key small ruminant diseases. Each focus group identified and scored their top five diseases. During analysis, the diseases were grouped in to seven major categories based on local names and clinical signs reported. Highest scores in proportional piling (out of 100 counters) were obtained for respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal parasites in highland areas (mixed crop-livestock systems) with strong agreement among respondent groups using Kendall's coefficient of concordance () ( = 0.395, < 0.01); whereas in lowland areas (pastoral and agro-pastoral systems), the priorities were respiratory and neurological diseases, also with very strong agreement ( = 0.995, < 0.01). There was no significant difference between men and women in prioritizing disease constraints. The reasons for prioritization were also used to define categories of impact of disease. The household survey confirmed disease priorities and highlighted the role of mortality for respiratory diseases. Despite differences in household roles, both men and women unvaryingly described the clinical signs in live animals the same way and reported similar observations of disease in carcasses of slaughtered animals. Overall, both men and women farmers had low awareness of zoonotic diseases. In conclusion, the priorities of national disease control programs do not fully match priorities of farmers. Such participatory tools should therefore, play a pivotal role when designing sustainable livestock health interventions.
动物健康干预措施往往侧重于跨界或人畜共患动物疾病，而对主要影响畜牧业生产和生产力的疾病关注较少，这些疾病是小农户所关心的问题。为了解男女牲畜饲养者对疾病的优先关注事项以及这些事项如何影响家庭，本研究采用参与式方法来阐明优先事项、优先排序的原因、对小反刍动物疾病及其传播途径的了解。该研究在埃塞俄比亚四个地区州的14个区分布的23个地点进行。与仅由男性或女性组成的群体进行了92次焦点小组讨论。使用了各种工具，如半结构化访谈、简单评分和比例排序，以促进这一过程。一项涉及432户家庭/受访者的后续家庭调查收集了关于关键小反刍动物疾病的深入数据。每个焦点小组确定并对他们认为最重要的五种疾病进行评分。在分析过程中，根据所报告的当地名称和临床症状，将疾病分为七大类。在高地地区（农牧混合系统），呼吸道疾病和胃肠道寄生虫在比例排序（满分100分）中得分最高，各受访者群体之间使用肯德尔和谐系数（）达成了强烈共识（ = 0.395， < 0.01）；而在低地地区（牧区和农牧结合系统），优先关注的是呼吸道和神经系统疾病，也达成了非常强烈的共识（ = 0.995， < 0.01）。在对疾病制约因素进行优先排序方面，男性和女性之间没有显著差异。优先排序的原因也被用于定义疾病影响的类别。家庭调查证实了疾病的优先事项，并突出了呼吸道疾病死亡率的作用。尽管家庭角色存在差异，但男性和女性对活体动物临床症状的描述始终相同，并且对屠宰动物尸体上疾病的观察报告也相似。总体而言，男女农民对人畜共患疾病的认识都很低。总之，国家疾病控制计划的重点与农民的重点并不完全匹配。因此，在设计可持续的牲畜健康干预措施时，此类参与式工具应发挥关键作用。
