Rutgers Equine Science Center, Department of Animal Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States of America.
Rutgers Equine Science Center, Department of Animal Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States of America.
J Equine Vet Sci. 2024 Nov;142:105193. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2024.105193. Epub 2024 Sep 12.
To stay up-to-date with the demographics, interests, and needs of the equine community, equine extension programs commonly conduct so called "needs assessment surveys". The main goals of the 2022 Rutgers Equine Science Center (ESC) needs assessment survey were to: 1) characterize the equine community, 2) identify information sources used by the equine community, 3) assess the usefulness of selected equine-related services and programs, and 4) determine the perceived importance of selected equine-related issues. An anonymous online survey was distributed through the Rutgers ESC's email list, a press release, and social media. Analysis-eligible surveys were received from n = 493. Most participants were female (92.7 %), 36-60 years of age (48.4 %), white (88.8 %), and horse owners (87.8 %). The top three sources of equine-related information used were 1) personal knowledge (95.7 %), 2) the veterinarian (93.7 %), and 3) the farrier (83.7 %). The survey showed that the provision of horse health information is the most useful service that the Rutgers ESC specifically can provide (79.3 %). This service may also be most useful for other extension programs, but a follow-up study is needed for clarification. The five equine-related issues most often considered to be extremely important were "Lameness and Soundness" (76.5 %), "Ethical Use of Horses" (73.2 %), "Nutrition" (63.9 %), "Right to Farm" (56.8 %), and "Care of Old Horses" (55.6 %). The survey provided insights into the current demographics of the equine community, highlighted personal knowledge, veterinarians and farriers as important information sources, and elucidated "Lameness and Soundness" as the most important equine-related issue.
为了及时了解马术界的人口统计学、兴趣和需求，马术推广项目通常会进行所谓的“需求评估调查”。2022 年罗格斯大学马术科学中心（ESC）需求评估调查的主要目标是：1）描述马术界，2）确定马术界使用的信息来源，3）评估选定的与马术相关的服务和计划的有用性，4）确定选定的与马术相关的问题的重要性。一份匿名的在线调查通过罗格斯 ESC 的电子邮件列表、新闻稿和社交媒体分发。收到了 n = 493 份符合分析条件的调查。大多数参与者是女性（92.7%）、36-60 岁（48.4%）、白人（88.8%）和马主（87.8%）。使用最多的三种与马术相关的信息来源是 1）个人知识（95.7%），2）兽医（93.7%）和 3）蹄铁匠（83.7%）。调查显示，提供马健康信息是罗格斯 ESC 特别能够提供的最有用的服务（79.3%）。这项服务对其他推广项目也可能最有用，但需要进一步的研究来澄清。被认为极其重要的五个与马术相关的问题是“跛行和健康”（76.5%）、“马匹的道德使用”（73.2%）、“营养”（63.9%）、“农场权利”（56.8%）和“老年马的护理”（55.6%）。该调查深入了解了马术界的当前人口统计学情况，强调了个人知识、兽医和蹄铁匠作为重要的信息来源，并阐明了“跛行和健康”是最重要的与马术相关的问题。
