School of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, GL7 6JS, UK.
Outcomes Research, Zoetis, Loughlinstown, County Dublin D18 T3Y1, Ireland.
Animal. 2021 Apr;15(4):100191. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2021.100191. Epub 2021 Feb 24.
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting beef and dairy calves worldwide, with implications for lifetime productivity, antimicrobial use and animal welfare. Our objective was to construct a conceptual framework for assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in calves with respiratory disease, based on indicators suitable for direct pen-side visual observation. Health-related quality of life measures aim to evaluate the subjective experience of the animal rather than any related pathology. A conceptual framework graphically represents the concepts to be measured and the potential relationships between them. A multistage, mixed method approach involving diverse data sources, collection methods and stakeholders was applied to promote comprehensiveness, understanding and validity of findings. A scoping review was conducted to identify, characterize and collate evidence of behavioural indicators of BRD. The indicators identified were mapped against the principal attributes of five prominent animal welfare assessment frameworks to appraise their correspondence with different characterizations of the dimensions of welfare. Forty-two semi-structured, individual, qualitative interviews with a purposeful sample of experienced veterinarians and stockpersons from UK, USA and Canada elicited in-depth descriptions of the visual observations of HRQL they make in diagnosing and assessing the response to treatment of calves with BRD. Verbatim interview transcripts were examined using inductive thematic analysis. Respondents provided insights and understanding of indicators of HRQL in BRD such as interaction with feed source, hair coat condition, specific characteristics of eye appearance, eye contact, rumen fill and stretching (pandiculation). In an on-farm pilot study to assess the value of potential HRQL behavioural indicators, there was a moderate positive correlation between behaviour and clinical scores (r = 0.59) across the 5 days preceding veterinary treatment for BRD. Interestingly, the behaviours evaluated were observed a median of 1.0 (interquartile range: 1.0-3.5) days before clinical indicators used in the scoring system. The proposed conceptual framework for assessment of HRQL features 23 putative indicators of HRQL distributed across two interrelated domains - clinical signs and behavioural expressions of emotional well-being. It has potential applications to inform the development of new HRQL measures such as structured questionnaires and automated sensor technologies.
牛呼吸道疾病（BRD）是影响全球肉牛和奶牛小牛的最普遍疾病之一，对其终生生产力、抗生素使用和动物福利都有影响。我们的目标是构建一个用于评估患有呼吸道疾病的小牛健康相关生活质量（HRQL）的概念框架，该框架基于适合直接在畜栏中进行视觉观察的指标。健康相关生活质量的衡量旨在评估动物的主观体验，而不是任何相关的病理。概念框架以图形方式表示要衡量的概念及其之间的潜在关系。采用多阶段、混合方法，涉及多种数据源、收集方法和利益相关者，以促进发现的全面性、理解和有效性。进行了范围界定审查，以确定、描述和整理 BRD 的行为指标的证据。确定的指标与五个主要动物福利评估框架的主要属性相对应，以评估它们与福利不同特征的对应关系。对来自英国、美国和加拿大的有经验的兽医和饲养员进行了 42 次半结构式、个体、定性访谈，他们对自己在诊断和评估 BRD 小牛的治疗反应时对 HRQL 的视觉观察进行了深入描述。逐字记录的访谈记录使用归纳主题分析进行了检查。受访者提供了对 BRD 中 HRQL 指标的见解和理解，例如与饲料来源的互动、毛发状况、眼睛外观、眼神交流、瘤胃充盈和伸展（反刍）的特定特征。在一项评估潜在 HRQL 行为指标价值的农场试点研究中，在兽医治疗 BRD 前的 5 天内，行为与临床评分之间存在中度正相关（r=0.59）。有趣的是，评估的行为在用于评分系统的临床指标之前平均观察到 1.0（四分位距：1.0-3.5）天。拟议的 HRQL 评估概念框架具有 23 个潜在的 HRQL 指标，分布在两个相互关联的领域——临床体征和情绪健康的行为表现。它有可能应用于为新的 HRQL 衡量标准提供信息，例如结构化问卷和自动化传感器技术。
