Browsing by Author "Adams, Cindy L."

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    Biosocial Complexities of Antimicrobial Use in Dairy Farming in Alberta, Canada
    (2020-07-24) Ida, Jennifer A.; Barkema, Herman W.; Wilson, Warren M.; Gerlach, S. Craig; Adams, Cindy L.; Kutz, Susan J.
    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), or the ability of a microbe to withstand treatment with antibiotics, is an emerging health issue that has been largely attributed to the inappropriate use of antimicrobial treatments. Many of the current research and policy initiatives focus on knowledge translation and behavioral change mechanisms as ways to achieve absolute reductions in antimicrobial use across all health sectors. However, the current approach fails to address underlying drivers of practice and is narrowly focused on achieving a numeric goal. Given the failure to understand the underlying drivers of decisions made by dairy farmers concerning antimicrobial use (AMU), this study sought to understand one community’s perceptions surrounding AMU, AMR, and regulation in the dairy farming industry in Alberta via the use of ethnography. Specifically, this included participation in on-farm activities (i.e., milking) and observations of relevant interactions (i.e., herd health exams) on dairy farms in Central Alberta for a period of 3.5 months. Interviews were conducted with 25 dairy farmers. Nine of these interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Thematic analyses resulted in four key takeaways. Farmers: 1) feel that AMU policies implemented in other contexts are impractical and are concerned that such policies, if implemented in Alberta, would constrain their freedom to make what they perceive to be the best decisions about AMU for their animals; 2) believe that their first-hand knowledge is undervalued by both consumers and policy-makers; 3) do not believe that the public trusts them to make the correct AMU choices and, consequently, worry that AMU policy will be guided by what they believe are misguided consumer concerns; 4) farmers are skeptical of a link between AMU in livestock and AMR in humans. Based on these findings, a better understanding of the sociocultural and political-economic infrastructure that supports such perceptions is warranted and should inform future policy.
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    Disease Control on Dairy Farms with a Focus on Johne's Disease and Veterinary Communication
    (2018-04-19) Ritter, Caroline Manuela Nancy; Barkema, Herman W.; Adams, Cindy L.; Jansen, Jolanda; De Buck, Jeroen M.; Kelton, David F.; Mason, Steve
    Motivating dairy farmers to implement disease prevention and control strategies can be challenging. The first objective of this thesis was to assess factors that influence farmers’ management decisions. A literature review was conducted focusing on socio-psychological influences and farmers’ preferred information sources. Additionally, surveys and qualitative interviews with Alberta dairy farmers contributed to the current knowledge by assessing farmers’ attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions in regard to the prevention and control of Johne’s disease, an infectious enteritis that is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and is endemic in Canadian dairy cows. Environmental fecal samples were analyzed for MAP to assess whether farm infection status influenced farmers’ decision to enroll in the voluntary Alberta Johne’s Disease Initiative (AJDI). Observed herd prevalence of MAP (i.e., 51%) was similar between AJDI participants and nonparticipants. Results further indicated that farmers have to believe in the importance of the disease and in recommended prevention and control strategies to make changes. In Alberta, the reasons why farmers did not participate in the AJDI or implemented recommended measures included skepticism of the threat and negative effects of Johne’s disease, critique of test sensitivity, required time, and costs. Farmers used a variety of information channels, but herd veterinarians had a major influence on their management. Veterinarians are in an ideal position to communicate and motivate recommended strategies targeted to each farm, and it is well established that effective communication skills can improve adherence with advice and health outcomes. Therefore, the second objective was to assess veterinary communication patterns. First, the suitability of on-farm video recordings for comprehensive communication analysis using the Roter Interaction Analysis System was demonstrated. Then, veterinary communication during 70 dairy farm visits was assessed. Veterinarians spent most of their talk on farmer education and relationship building. Demographics such as gender and length of the professional veterinarian-farmer relationship affected the use of some communication variables, whereas the effect of previous communication training was minimal. Identification of influences on farmers’ management decisions and of veterinary communication patterns can reveal opportunities to enhance communication, thus improving the uptake of prevention and control measures.
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    Enhancing Access to Quality Rental Housing for People with Pets as Healthy Public Policy
    (2019-01-25) Graham, Taryn M.; Rock, Melanie; Adams, Cindy L.; Milaney, Katrina J.
    When pets are considered in housing studies, attention tends to be paid towards vulnerable pet owners, namely in the context of homelessness, domestic violence situations, or disaster circumstances. Targeted interventions are important since vulnerable pet owners may risk their lives if they anticipate being separated from their pets or being turned away from shelters because of them. Intervention strategies that target the whole population are also needed, however, since pets are regularly restricted, if not banned outright, from the private rental sector and in social housing. Moreover, a “no pets” policy may force homeowners, specifically condominium or strata owners, to give up their pets. This thesis is comprised of three papers linking housing, health, and pet ownership in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a relatively new area of study, issues surrounding housing accessibility, affordability, location, and quality among pet owners were mainly explored qualitatively. The first paper drew upon online rental listings and focused on housing recovery for tenants with pets in the aftermath of a flood. The second paper moved beyond disaster circumstances and compared perspectives towards pets in rental housing more generally. Finally, the need to address housing issues for pet owners must be considered within the context of social, economic, and demographic pressures. Millennials not only represent a majority of pet owners today, they are also disproportionately tenants and they tend to move frequently. As a result, the third paper considered what life is like for millennials with dogs once they are housed in the rental market, paying close attention to the potential influence of pet ownership on their identities, relationships, and environments. Overall, this thesis begins to answer important questions about how restrictive policies on pets in rental housing impacts human health and development. Without the proper supports in place, people with access to fewer resources may face greater challenges keeping their pets, because they cannot opt for homeownership. Improvements in access to housing for pet owners, and integrated programs and services to support pet ownership in housing and neighbourhood contexts, are essential to addressing animal relinquishment and to reducing inequities in health outcomes among pet owners.
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    Evaluation of a risk assessment questionnaire in identifying facility and management factors associated with dairy cattle lameness in Alberta
    (2019-12-24) van Huyssteen, Michelle; Orsel, Karin; Barkema, Herman W.; Adams, Cindy L.
    A score-based lameness risk assessment questionnaire (RAQ) was conducted on 65 dairy farms in addition to the assessment of lameness and foot lesion prevalence, both infectious and non-infectious. Within-herd prevalence of lameness was 20%, remaining unchanged since the last assessment of lameness. Accuracy of the RAQ in identifying overall risk on farm was evaluated and determined to be inadequate with weak associations between total RAQ scores and lameness and lesion prevalence. When analyzing each question in the RAQ, 21 questions identified risk factors that were associated with lameness and lesions. After adjustment of the risk scores of categorical answers, the association between herd lameness and lesion prevalence and total RAQ scores improved but remained suboptimal. However, the questions that did identify risk factors can be used to support producers in prioritizing implemented changes for lameness control and mitigation.
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    Exploring moral distress amongst veterinarians who care for poor people and their pets in multi-species communities
    (2022-07-07) Rock, Melanie June; Baker, Tessa; Chalhoub, Serge; Van Patten, Kimberly; Adams, Cindy L.
    As a profession, veterinary medicine has ethical and legal obligations towards humankind, not just other species. Even so, investigations into medico-legal borderlands have yet to focus on veterinary expertise. This presentation centers on pop-up free clinics in a partnership between a social-service charity and a veterinary school. Social research has informed this service-learning initiative, from the outset. Most recently, our interdisciplinary team interviewed clients, social-service providers employed by the partnered charity, and qualified veterinarians who have participated as educators. The interview guides provided the foundation for an analytic matrix and team discussions. After that, with periodic input from team members and an emphasis on reflexivity, I led a thematic analysis vis-à-vis relevant scholarship, including previous publications arising from this service-learning initiative. Social-service providers indicated appreciation for the veterinary educators’ commitment to partnership. As for clients, they consistently reported feeling respected and valued at the pop-up free clinic, and they spoke of their pets as family members. Some clients registered concern about the veterinary-service barriers faced by poor people. The veterinarians, meanwhile, expressed profound angst and sorrow, consistent with a concept called “moral distress.” Social researchers, along with social-service providers and policy professionals, should pay more attention to moral distress amongst veterinary-service providers as a social problem. Only then might multi-species publics might become powerful enough to redress the root causes of the ethical quandaries and questioning that can arise from caring for marginalized multi-species families.
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    Occupational health and safety among officers who enforce animal laws in the Province of Alberta (Canada): An examination of the risks and rewards
    (2019-01-23) Rault, Elfriede Dawn; Rock, Melanie; Adams, Cindy L.; Springett, Jane
    Worldwide, laws exist to protect animals and to stop them from becoming public threats or nuisances. The officers who enforce animal laws precariously straddle justice and health systems. Nonetheless, these officers rarely receive recognition as skilled professionals, neither in the realm of public health nor in justice. Furthermore, their work is poorly understood in society, and within the academy. My research examined how officers who enforce animal laws perceive the risks and rewards associated with their employment, with a focus on occupational health and safety. To help with mitigating risks to this workforce, I worked closely with two professional associations in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Two tragic events, the death of an officer in the line of duty in 2012 and an assault on an officer in 2014, informed my entire study. Designed as an action research project, this qualitative ethnographic case study included in-depth interviews with officers and managers; intensive participant-observation; first-hand observations in courts of law; and an analysis of legal texts and government policies. Over the course of this study, I engaged in robust knowledge translation and mobilization activities alongside officers to advocate for improvements to their working conditions. My findings suggest that the enforcement of animal laws can contribute to public safety and community well-being. Officers spoke about the societal benefits of their work with pride, yet they consistently felt unsafe and devalued. The main findings with respect to officers’ health and safety were resource inadequacies, insufficient information, poor patterns of communication and intelligence sharing, and a culture of normalized disrespect in the law enforcement hierarchy. Significant opportunities exist in Alberta, and beyond, to improve the working conditions for officers who enforce animal laws in particular, as well as municipal bylaws and provincial statues more generally. Operationally, there is a need for greater inter-agency collaboration within and outside the justice system, consistent intelligence-sharing with other law enforcement agencies, a robust operational safety training program, improved communication with dispatch, and consistent access to personal protective equipment and defensive tools. In the academy, greater attention should be given within criminology as well as in public health to animal laws and their enforcement.