ITAVI, Institut Technique de l’Aviculture, Pisciculture et Cuniculture, 75009 Paris, France
Nathalie Rousset
ITAVI, Institut Technique de l’Aviculture, Pisciculture et Cuniculture, 75009 Paris, France
Justine Grillet
ITAVI, Institut Technique de l’Aviculture, Pisciculture et Cuniculture, 75009 Paris, France
Annick Spaans
ZLTO, 5223 DE s’-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Aitor Devesa
Poultry Health Centre of Catalonia and Aragon (CESAC), 43206 Reus, Spain
Sandra Sevilla-Navarro
Centro de Calidad Avícola y Alimentación Animal de la Comunidad Valenciana (CECAV), 12539 Castellón, Spain
Giuditta Tilli
Vetworks BV, Knokstraat 36, 9880 Aalter, Belgium
Alessandra Piccirillo
Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Artur Żbikowski
Department of Pathology and Veterinary Diagnostics, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
László Kovács
Department of Animal Hygiene, Herd Health and Mobile Clinic, University of Veterinary Medicine, H-1078 Budapest, Hungary
Mária Kovács-Weber
Department of Animal Husbandry Technology and Welfare, Institute of Animal Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Poultry producers’ attitudes towards biosecurity practices were assessed by using the ADKAR® (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement) behavioral change model. Conventional poultry producers (n = 155) from different production types including broilers (n = 35), layers (n = 22), breeders (n = 24), turkeys (n = 19), ducks (n = 23), free-range broilers (n = 11), free-range layers (n = 11), and hatcheries (n = 10) from seven European countries were scored for each ADKAR element (1 = total absence to 5 = perfect fulfilment). Each country performed selected interventions (e.g., coaching, participatory meetings, etc.) to improve biosecurity compliance. After the interventions, significant change was observed in three of the four attitude elements. The overall mean scores (x¯ ± SD) obtained during the initial assessment (n = 130) were 4.2 ± 0.6 for Awareness, 4.1 ± 0.7 for Desire, 3.8 ± 0.8 for Knowledge, and 4.0 ± 0.7 for Ability, whereas after intervention, the scores were A = 4.3 ± 0.6, D = 4.2 ± 0.7, K = 4.1 ± 0.7, and Ab = 4.1 ± 0.7. The Reinforcement component was only evaluated after the change and obtained a score of 3.7 ± 0.7 on average. Identifying the elements influencing poultry producers and their behavior related to farm management decisions was useful in guiding our educational interventions to effectively change their behavior.
